Five-Region Rush redone

[Sarcastically Insane]

Five-Region Rush is back! For those of you who missed the first time I posted this, it draws inspiration from Special, the games, and my own adventures, with plenty of new stuff. However, when school started, my homework overwhelmed me, but that's a problem no more. I'm starting with Johto because that's where Silver, my first game, takes place. I will show what happened to Red, Blue, and Green (Leaf) through flashbacks and the Prologue. Note that this isn't just "boy leaves home, challenges Gyms, wins League"; it just seems to start out like that.

Prologue (Three Years Prior)

“Now I see what I have truly done, Red. You have shown me Lance’s true intentions… I never thought that my greed would allow this much damage to occur. I will disband Team Rocket as best I can, but I do not control its entirety. I can only try…”

“No!” shouted Red. “You will destroy Team Rocket! You owe me this much, Giovanni! I nearly lost my arm to save you, and then you betrayed me! If it wasn’t for Blue, I would kill you… but he says you have someone that you have to protect. I know how that is, and I also know how hard it is to get by without a father, so I’ll leave you. But promise me that you will make sure that Team Rocket never takes another life! My father, my brother… and nearly my mother! Blue’s family! The people of Cinnabar Island! All the Pokemon that you’ve slaughtered! And her…. I spent two years healing while everyone thought I had died! She died trying to avenge me WHEN I WASN’T EVEN DEAD! All of this because of YOU!”

“Red… I know your pain. When I was a child, my family died when the Celedon Game Corner’s construction site collapsed. I went into denial… my first Pokemon was stolen, my family gone... I had nothing left. When I finally found the thief, he nearly killed me, but my Gardevoir… my last Pokemon... she saved my life at the cost of hers. Completely grief-stricken and enraged, I killed the thief and took his Pokemon, and, locking my memories away, joined Team Rocket. In a few years I was at the head of the organization’s Kanto sect, and you came along. After all you did, it took you defeating me here to realize what I’ve become. Here, take this… it will allow you to disengage the barrier around the Indigo Plateau. That is all I can offer at this point….”


***

Chapter One
The Journey Begins
(Present Day)


Gold watched the waves roll by the side of the ship. He had turned thirteen on the trip to Johto, and he wanted to get his first Pokemon, right NOW. Gold and his mother were moving from Hoenn and its rising criminal population to Johto, so that Gold could start his adventure in a safer place. They were heading to the port in Cianwood City, then taking a ferry all the way to New Bark Town.

Three hours later, Gold stepped off of the ferry and into New Bark Town. He knew from the maps he had studied on the boat that Johto, along with the region to the east, Kanto, made up the Indigo continent. He knew that the first town he would visit on his journey would be Violet City, which also held the first gym. And finally, he knew that the Indigo Plateau was across the Mount Silver. He was ready to sprint straight towards the lab he could make out at the other edge of the small village when his mother yelled for him to help unpack.

“Great,” Gold thought before checking his watch. “Nine at night and I have to help my mom unpack everything we own. And the lab closed an hour ago…”

***

The next day, Gold got up and grabbed a pair of cargo shorts and a white shirt from his suitcase, one of the only things left unpacked because he was going to leave soon. He didn’t even bother to comb his hair, so his hair was a mess, especially one bang that kept going into his face, so he put a hat on. He grabbed two extra sets of clothes to stuff in a backpack and slipped on a hoodie with his own design on it, a present from his uncle. Rushing out past his mom, he went straight over to the Pokemon Research Lab, headed by Professor Elm.

“Well, hello there,” said Professor Elm when he saw Gold. “You must be Gold, the new boy from Hoenn. I understand that you are thirteen, so go ahead and choose a Pokemon; Chikorita, a grass type, Cyndaquil, a fire type, or Totodile, a water type. Choose quickly, though: today is Crystal’s birthday, and I’m expecting her soon.”

Gold thought about it for a minute: he knew that fire types were strong, and if you trained them enough, even water types were easy to defeat. But water types were notoriously fast, and Totadile’s evolutions were very strong. And yet, grass types were balanced, and they could heal themselves. Just as Crystal came in, Gold picked up the Poke Ball for Cyndaquil.

Crystal was dressed in shorts, a tank top, and a light vest. Her blue hair was a mess, and she looked like she had just woken up, but was wide-eyed and on edge.

“Hey, Professor Elm,” Crystal said. “And you must be… Gold? Yeah, that’s it. Huh? You got your Pokemon? Please tell me you didn’t take Chikorita!”

“No, I chose Cyndaquil, don’t worry,” replied Gold.

As Crystal picked up Chikorita, Elm said, “Why don’t you give them nicknames?”

Gold thought that it was a great idea, and nicknamed Cyndaquil Flare. Crystal decided not to nickname her Chikorita.

“Now,” said Elm, “could you take this Egg to Professor Oak? He’s on the trail north of here. He might think this is interesting, as nobody has seen a Pokemon Egg quite like this one.”

Gold and Crystal accepted, but as they were at the outskirts of the village, Gold’s stomach growled.

“I forgot breakfast!” he said as he ran back home, leaving Crys laughing before her own hunger hit her.

Thirty minutes later, they left, both set for the journey they were setting out on.

“So you want to be a battler, Crystal?” Gold asked as they walked.

“Please don’t call me Crystal. I never liked that name… people usually call me Crys, probably because I’m a tomboy. But no, my goal is to become the world’s most renowned natural Pokemon Professor. I want to find ways to help the environment using Pokemon that want to help me. You see, my father was poisoned by toxic sludge at a factory that was polluting the environment. I fear that one day, I’ll get a call from the hospital that he didn’t make it…”

“Oh, sorry…” Gold apologized. “Well, I want to be the first person to go to all five known regions- Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Orre- get all the badges, and win the Indigo Rivalry, the Silver Conference, the Ever Grande Championship, the World Battle, and the Shadow Tournament, respectively.”

At this, Professor Oak’s cabin came into view.

“Race ya,” said Gold, and the duo was off.

As they knocked on the cabin door, Professor Oak answered and let them in. After an hour of lecturing about Pokemon, how to catch them, where they lived, their individual personalities, and something about youngsters not knowing how much they have it made, Gold and Crys slipped out with the Pokeballs that they were given during the "how to catch them" part.

“At least now we have some Poke Balls, and we know the path to get to Violet City,” said Gold. “That’s were the first Gym is.”

“And,” replied Crys, “Sprout Tower is located there, too. It's renowned around these parts for being a guardian of the city.”

As they approached the Violet City Gates, a Ledyba appeared out of the grass.

“Sweet, some training!” Gold yelled as he threw Flare’s Poke Ball.

As Flare appeared, he yawned and lay down. The Ledyba noticed them now, and tackled Flare. As Flare flew backwards, he somersaulted mid-air and sent a small stream of fire from his mouth, badly burning the Ledyba. Then, Gold threw one of his empty Poke Balls at it to capture it. As the ball rolled back and forth, Gold knew it could pop open and break the Poke ball. After a few rolls, it stopped, and Gold knew he had caught his first Pokemon.

“Oh, yeah, Ledyba is mine!” Gold yelled. Then a thought occurred to him, and he said, “Actually, I’ll call it Ledya. I’ll nickname all my Pokemon.”

As they walked into Violet City, they were astounded. Gold had grown up in Littleroot Town, with about thirty other people. Crys had grown up in New Bark Town, with only seventeen other people. But Violet City was huge compared to them. It had over 150 people with over seventy Pokemon, plus all the bird Pokemon living above the city and the Bellsprout in Sprout Tower.

Then there was the Gym. When it came into sight, the Gym Leader was performing on the roof with his Pokemon. Pidgeotto, Murkrow, and Staravia were all there, and the Gym Leader was riding them, jumping from one to another as they flipped and did stunts. Then, they all used Ariel Ace, flying at Mach 1 in a circle, and Gold knew he had no chance against such fast Pokemon.

“I need to train first,” he thought before saying, “Let’s go to Sprout Tower.”

As they wandered around the city, it came into view: ten stories tall, covered in greenery, and rocking gently. He knew it was the perfect place to train.

When they got inside, Gold went off and said he’d return at dusk, leaving Crys to study to “Bellsprout Pillar”, the supporting column in the center of the tower. Legend had it that a hundred-foot-tall Bellsprout had been the protector of the city in feudal times. When it was badly hurt by a bewitched Entei, the Entei broke the spell and granted the Bellsprout one wish. The Bellsprout wished to be a monument to peace, and was transformed into the tower’s pillar. Entei then told the city to build a tower around the pillar so that they could fulfill the Bellsprout’s wish, and be protected by it.
She decided that she needed a better look, so Crys went up a few floors. While she was climbing the stairs, a Bellsprout appeared and attacked her!

“Go! Chikorita!” yelled Crys as she threw Chikorita’s Poke Ball. When Chikorita appeared, she used Razor Leaf to attack the Bellsprout, who countered in the same way, sending sickle-shaped leaved toward their opponent. When the attacks collided in midair, the Bellsprout released a cloud of orange powder and blew it towards Chikorita. Chikorita then used Razor Leaf to reverse the direction of the powder and tackled Bellsprout. As Crys was about to throw a Poke Ball at it and capture it, the Bellsprout spit a purple substance at Chikorita, and Crys turned white and froze. Chikorita turned to see what was wrong, and Bellsprout attacked her. All of a sudden, an old man appeared and calmed the Bellsprout.

“Who might you be?” the old man asked. “And why did you just attack a Pokemon from our tower?”

“Bellsprout attacked me,” explained Crys, “so my Chikorita attacked it. Then it used a purple a-attack…” She froze again.

“What is wrong?” the old man inquired.

“Th-the poison… not poison…” Crys calmed herself before explaining. “I want to help clean the world up from pollution because my father was poisoned, and I want to let him see a cleaner world when he wakes up. But poisons scare me horribly bad.”

As the old man nodded, the Bellsprout Pillar started to rock back and forth. Then Crys heard Chikorita say, “It’s true, I promise.”

“Did you just speak?” Crys asked, bewildered.

“Yes, your Chikorita has spoken. You have been granted this by the Bellsprout that became a pillar. He sees you as a worthy person,” the old man said, and left.

***

Three floors up, Gold sent Flare and Ledya out of their Poke Balls. He went around the floor and gathered about twenty Bellsprout and said to them, “I need to train for the Violet Gym battle. Would any of you like to help by battling my Pokemon, Flare and Ledyba?” At this, the Bellsprout began to nod slightly. “Thanks, we can do one-on-one battles. Who wants to go first?”

A few Bellsprout stepped forward and assumed fighting stance. For the next hour, Gold trained his Pokemon, having Flare use Ember and Ledyba using Comet Punch and Gust when, after a battle with a particularly feisty Bellsprout, Ledya evolved! As he glowed, some Bellsprout seemed to smile. Then, all of a sudden, there was a Ledian!

“Awesome, Ledya evolved!” Gold yelled.
Then an old man appeared. “You revel in fighting, and are joyous when someone becomes stronger. Why?”

“I want to become a great Pokemon trainer,” Gold said. “I asked the Bellsprout if they could help me with the first step, the Violet Gym, and they agreed to help me by battling. They even smiled when Ledian evolved!” Gold answered.

“Very well…” the old man said.

***

Appendix

Spoiler

Gold is a boy who just started his journey into the world of Pokemon. His dream is to become the champion of every Pokemon League. His Pokemon are Cyndaquil (Flare) and Ledian (Ledya).

Crys is a girl who wants to become the world's first natural Pokemon Proffesor. Her only Pokemon is a Chikorita.

***

Next Time!

Spoiler

As they walked into the Violet Gym, a young man dropped in from the upper floor. He was dressed in very baggy white pants and a gi. He had a green eye, and his dark hair covered his left eye; oddly, it seemed to make him more observant.

"I am Falkner, the Gym Leader here!" he yelled. "Are you a challenger?"

"No," Gold yelled back, taking out Flare's Pokeball, "I'm a winner!"

 

[Shiay]

Hm... well... I have nothing on the punctuation since it looks good -- however, there are quite a few issues with how you've spelled some things. Like 'Cianwood' and 'Chikorita'. Also... you want to remember to add a new paragraph every time the speaker changes and not to capitalize what's in the quotations when you have something like this:

As Crystal picked up Chicorita, Elm said, “Why don’t you give them nicknames?” Gold thought that it was a great idea, and nicknamed Cyndaquil Flare. Crystal decided not to nickname her Chicorita. “Now,” said Elm, “could you take this Egg to Professor Oak? He’s on the trail north of here. He might think this is interesting, as nobody has seen a Pokemon Egg quite like this one.”

Actually, there's a couple of things I'm going to be picking at this in this particular passage.

First off, As Crystal picked up Chicorita, Elm said, “Why don’t you give them nicknames?” should actually be more like: As Crystal picked up Chikorita, Elm said, "why don't you give them nicknames?" -- And then after that, Gold thought that it was a great idea, and nicknamed Cyndaquil Flare. Crystal decided not to nickname her Chicorita. should be the start of a new paragraph.

“Now,” said Elm, “could you take this Egg to Professor Oak? He’s on the trail north of here. He might think this is interesting, as nobody has seen a Pokemon Egg quite like this one.” <-- and this should start it's own paragraph as well.

My personal opinion? It's a little cliché, but then again, a lot of things are starting to be these days -- including my very own 'Talk About Imbalance'. The descriptions are lacking a bit and it's kind of hard to develop a clear mental image in my mind because of that.

 

[Sarcastically Insane]

Oops. I hate Chikorita's spelling.

And the clichés stop soon- it's only a journey fic for the first ten chapters or so.

and the story picks up a LOT. At least according to the Meme-er, who asploded about it...

 

[Sarcastically Insane]

Chapter Two
Winged Warrior

As Gold and Crys walked towards the Violet Gym, they talked about the weird old man in Sprout Tower.

"He knew Chikorita could talk," Crys told Gold, "even before I did. Do you think he lives there?"

"Nah," Gold replied absentmindedly. "But this guy, Falkner, he's going DOWN! Right, Flare?"

"But still, if he knew, why didn't he talk with Chikorita? When she told him that it was all true, it seemed like he didn't understand her, at least not the way I do."

"Who cares?" Gold said, planning his battle out.

As they walked into the Violet Gym, a young man dropped in from the upper floor. He was dressed in very baggy white pants and a gi. He had a green eye, and his dark hair covered his left eye; oddly, it seemed to make him more observant.

"I am Falkner, the Gym Leader here!" he yelled. "Are you a challenger?"

"No," Gold yelled back, taking out Flare's Pokeball, "I'm a winner!"

"We'll see about that," Falkner replied. He took out a remote from his pocket and pressed a button, and the ceiling began to slide open. "When I battle, I battle in the sky. I'm a master of Flying Pokemon. People ridicule Flying types, saying they're too weak to carry a heavy load, or that you can clip their wings with electricity. Some even say that a Flying Pokemon is useless if it's too cold. But they're wrong! Flying Pokemon are beautiful, and I fly with them! Go, Murkrow!"

"You seem a bit defensive," said Gold as he threw Flare's Pokeball.

Flare attacked right away, shooting a small flame out, but Murkrow dodged it and threw out a shadowy blob. Flare used Quick Attack to dodge the Shadow Ball and ran at Murkrow, but Murkrow just flew up to dodge.

His black feathers then began to become a dark grey, and kept getting lighter, ever so slowly. Flare took aim and used Quick Attack to run up the walls, jump backwards, and land on Murkrow. Then he used Ember again to knock Murkrow out of the sky.

However, because he was on Murkrow’s back, Flare fell, too. When they hit the ground, Flare yelled that he was alright, but Murkrow was still getting brighter and brighter. The glare from it was beginning to blind Flare. All of a sudden, Murkrow unleashed the light- in a Sky Attack! The shimmering attack blew through Flare, nearly knocking him out. He only had the strength to use an Ember, but it grew stronger and became a Flamethrower! It hit Murkrow right on the spot where he landed, knocking him out. However, Flare was too tired to go on, and had to go back into his Pokeball.

“Wow, nobody’s ever survived Sky Attack long enough to get another hit in,” Falkner said. “But that’s not a problem- go, Staravia!”

“That just means I’m the best, and we all know it’s true!” Gold yelled back. “Go, Ledya!”

Gold knew that Ledya was at a type disadvantage because she was a Bug type, but Staravia didn’t use the unique moves Ledya had. Ledya started out with a few Agilities, growing faster and faster, and used Mach Punch at full speed. Staravia had barely even moved at this point, and was hit dead-on. Because he was also Normal-typed, Staravia took normal damage from the hit. Then Ledya used Comet Punch and hit Staravia too many times to count. Staravia had already sustained too many hits and fainted.

“Wow, that’s one quick bug. Too bad I’m going to have to use my dad’s Pidgeotto to take it out! Go, Pidgeotto!”

As Pidgeotto came out, Ledya was already using Agility as many times as she could to out-speed Pidgeotto. However, Pidgeotto used Aerial Ace and Quick Attack together to get to the same speed as Ledya. As Pidgeotto came in to Peck at her, Ledya flew up out of the Gym. Pidgeotto landed, and Falkner hopped on her back, while Gold ran outside. As Pidgeotto took off, Ledya used Silver Wind over and over to power herself up, creating a whirlwind and sending it towards Pidgeotto, who dodged them all and used Mirror Move to send the attacks back at Ledya. Then Pidgeotto used Air Slash to try and cut Ledya out of the sky, but she dodged it and used Swift, sending out hundreds of tiny stars, hitting Pidgeotto square in the chest.

When Falkner realized the danger of falling off if Pidgeotto fainted, he had Pidgeotto fly over to the outside of Sprout Tower and land on the spiraling walkways surrounding the building. Then Pidgeotto went back and attacked Ledya with Peck. Ledya dodged and used Comet Punch and Mach Punch together, hitting Pidgeotto with a huge barrage of fists. Realizing that Gold had sent out a Pokemon that was weak against Flying types, Falkner figured that Ledya was probably Gold’s last Pokemon and took a gamble- he used Brave Bird, which his dad had meticulously taught to Pidgeotto, and slammed into Ledya, but Gold saw the power from the attack and had Ledya use Safeguard to help protect against most of the damage. Luckily, Ledya barely survived, but Pidgeotto had taken too much punishment and fainted.

Falkner glided down from Sprout Tower and back into the Gym’s open roof. As Gold walked in, he was awarded the Zephyr Badge, a hexagon with some of the center cut out to resemble two wings.

“Congratulations, Gold,” Falkner said. “I never imagined that a Bug type could defeat a Flying type.”

“You’re the one who was ranting about how type disadvantages aren’t everything before the battle,” Gold replied. “But good battle- I was pretty on edge there for a second.”

“Yeah… hey, I’m sorry for what I said before the battle. It’s just that some kid came in here last night with a Totodile and used Ice Beam over and over and took out all of my Pokemon… it really steamed me. I was hoping that I could win this battle… I’m a new Leader, you see, because my dad left a few months ago. Every challenger has won since then… all four. I’m not suited for this Gym life."

"I want to travel around the world! That’s what I love about Flying Pokemon- they’re completely free. But you really impressed me. If I could travel like you guys… hey, could I? My grandfather could watch over the Gym. Leaders also have a fund for food and such, so we could buy supplied a bit easier. What do you say, Gold?”

“I say sure, another guy would make listening to Crys easier. We’re staying at the Pokemon Center, and we’re leaving tomorrow around nine, heading towards Azalea Town. Meet us at the southwest gate.”

***
Appendix

Spoiler

Gold is a boy who just started his journey into the world of Pokemon. His dream is to become the champion of every Pokemon League. His Pokemon are Cyndaquil (Flare) and Ledian (Ledya).

Crys is a girl who wants to become the world's first natural Pokemon Proffesor. Her only Pokemon is a Chikorita.

Falkner is Violet City's previous Gym Leader. He wanted to leave because he hated staying in one place and wanted to be free, like his birds. His Pokemon are Murkrow, Staravia, and Pidgeotto.

Falkner joining is in no way based on Brock joining Ash. He's just my favorite Gym Leader and I wanted a slightly bigger cast.

***
Next time!

Spoiler

While they wandered the cave, they eventually began to follow the wailing noise. All of a sudden, a faint glow registered in their eyes. They ran forward, thinking it was the exit, but they found a spring of glowing water. In the center, a lone Lapras was wailing. It had a chunk of ice on one of its front flippers and a crack in its shell. When it saw them, it let loose an Ice Beam, but the attack was so weak it dissipated in midair.

 

[Sarcastically Insane]

Chapter Three
Wailing Waters

The trio had decided to take a break for lunch outside the gate to the Ruins of Alph. As Falkner cooked, Gold's phone rang.

"Yeah?"

"Gold? This is Proffesor Elm. I have horrible news. My third Pokemon, Totodile, has been stolen!"

"What?!"

"The thief also grabbed a handful of TM's we had recieved, so you must watch out if you see a Totodile; there are only a few!"

Gold was shocked. Someone had stolen a Pokemon! Unbelievable! He passed on the information to Crys, who was shocked as well.

"Hey, guys, the food's done!" Falkner yelled.

Crys took one bite and gagged. "You may have money to buy food," Crys said, "but, Falkner, your cooking... sucks."

"Hey, she has a point about the food," Gold agreed, glad to change the subject from the Totodile. "Have you EVER tasted this?"

"Once," Falkner said, putting his hamburger back down, "but my dad helped me cook it. That's one of the last good memories I had with him. After that, some challenger nearly killed his silver Staraptor, and he became really depressed. He had caught that Staraptor as his first Pokemon, and it became legendary around these parts. Nobody's ever seen anything like it. When it finally became healthy again, he kept on moping. Eventually, he got a job offer from some guy in Kanto, and he left two months ago for the position."

"Wow, how long was he like that?" Crys asked.

"It happened when I was three," Falkner said. "It was also the year he taught me how to use a glider. I've had to train with him since then, just to keep him going..."

"My dad used to run a Gym," Gold said. "Back in Hoenn, my dad ran the Petalburg Gym. He used to be so engrossed in training and renovations; he never really talked to me. My first Pokemon was actually a Beldum from my cousin, but I always had to hide it from my dad, because he was a stickler to the "must be thirteen" rule. When we moved, I had to leave it behind because I couldn't find it in time. He was never close to me, and because of the move, my mom probably hates him, too."

"That had to suck, leaving behind Beldum because of your dad," Falkner said soberly. "My dad made me start training when I was five. I was closer to my Pokemon than him."

"My dad's been in the hospital since I was a little kid, and I never knew my mom. My dad used to talk about her, saying she saved him. He would never tell from what, though."

The trio got up, and Gold and Crys started to go through the gates.

"Hey, wait! We don't want to go through the Ruins of Alph," Falkner said. "They've found some new chamber and the scientists are like rabid dogs if you touch something. We'll need to go through Union Cave if we want to get to Azalea Town. I know a path through the woods to get there."

The three hiked through the woods and found a cave through a small mountain. As they entered it, they heard a mournful wailing.

"What was that?" Crys asked, startled.

"I've never heard anything like it," Falkner said, "and I've been exploring this cave since I was a kid."

While they wandered the cave, the light from the entrance faded, and they realized there was no light in the cave, another change from what Falkner knew. They eventually began to follow the wailing noise. All of a sudden, a faint glow registered in their eyes. They ran forward, thinking it was the exit, but they found a spring of glowing water. In the center, a lone Lapras was wailing. It had a chunk of ice on one of its front flippers and a crack in its shell. When it saw them, it let loose an Ice Beam, but the attack was so weak it dissipated in midair.

"It looks so pitiful," Crys said. "Who would have done this?"

"Me” said a nearby voice, "because I need to catch it."

"That voice," Falkner said in disbelief, "it's the kid who beat me!"

"That could be anyone, Falkner," said the red-haired boy. "But yes, I, Silver, defeated you."

"Why are you doing this to Lapras?" Gold yelled. "You're killing it!"

"If a Bite and Ice Beam would kill it, it's too weak for my team. Too bad, I thought Lapras didn't suck."

"What do you mean?! No Pokemon deserves that kind of treatment!" yelled Crys.

Silver laughed and ordered another attack on Lapras, and the attack shot out of nowhere; a freezing ray, Ice Beam

This pushed Crys over the edge, and she threw out Chicorita, who started with a Razor Chicorita at Silver, but his Totodile came out from where the Ice Beam did and Ice Beamed the leaves, stopping them in midair and shattering them.

"Totodile?" Gold said. "That's the Pokemon Professor Elm said was stolen! He's the thief! Go, Flare!"

"Thief?" Falkner said. "Damn him! Go, Pidgeotto!"

Even with the three-on-one matchup, Silver remained confident. He had Ice Beam to take out Chicorita and Pidgeotto and Water Gun to take out Flare.

But Chicorita used Energy Ball, and when Totodile tried to freeze it, the outside froze, but not the core, so when it hit Totodile, the Grass-type core and the Ice-type shell hit him together for massive damage, knocking him out.

"Damn," Silver said. "Screw this; I have to get to the Slowpoke Well before the damn Rockets." At this he ran off.

"What about the Lapras?" Crys asked. As she looked over, the Lapras began to swim over to Crys. When it got the edge of the spring, they saw how deep the gash was underneath the cracked shell. The Transport Pokemon lowered its head into Crys's arms and died.

"Laaa-prrrraaaaassssss." A mournful wail came from the far side of the spring, where the glow wasn't as bright, and a baby Lapras swam over to its dead mother. "Laaaaaaaaaaa?"

"Oh my God," Crys gasped. "The bastard killed this baby's mother. I'll murder him!"

When she said this, the Lapras drew back, and seemed scared.

"I'm sorry," Crys apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you. Would you like to come with us?"

The baby Lapras seemed to nod its head, and Crys used a Pokeball to catch it. Then they set the dead Lapras adrift with a few burning leaves from Chicorita's Razor Chicorita. As the Lapras drifted, the spring dimmed, and eventually went out. In the darkness, they could see a pinpoint of light that had to be the exit. They walked towards it silently.

 

[Shiay]

Sorry for not getting to this sooner -- I've been highly stressed as of late due to my medical stuff going on.

Ahem... anyways... onto reviewing the fic.

I'm not exactly all for one that sees the Gym Leaders leaving their assigned Gyms to be traveling -- it was something that I didn't really like about the original Pokémon anime about Brock and Misty -- Brock at least had his father and then soon his oldest younger brother take over the Gym -- Misty, on the other hand, had vanity obsessed sisters that took the Cerulean Gym and turned it into basically a showplace.

More onto the fic -- I'm going to have to say that the descriptions are still highly lacking and could definitely prove to have more action instead of relying too much on dialogue. You can't really rely too much on it unless you're writing a graphic novel -- the lack of description makes it hard for the reader to be making out what it is that they're doing. Remember, just because you know what's going on exactly in the fic doesn't exactly mean that your audience will.

 

[woops]

*Headdesk* I can't believe I didn't notice this! It seems like it's redone nice, but still a bit lacking in description. Despite this, I still really like it.

Alsp, in the latest chapter, twice you said "Chicorita's Razor Chicorita". I think you mean "Chikorita's Razor Leaf. Other than that, I don't see anything grammar/spelling-wise.I'm looking for plot holes, because it's what I do, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it!

 

[Sarcastically Insane]

Crap. I used Word's switch to change Leaf's name back to Chicorita for simplicity, but it had... side effects. And I'm thinking about dumping this for my other fic, Split. It's non-Poke, and similar to my actual writing style (Poke fics are different in unimaginable ways T.T)

 

[woops]

I hope you don't "Dump" it... Or at least you pass on plans and let someone else continue it for you...
It would make me sad.

 

[Sarcastically Insane]

Chapter Four
Great Times

As Gold, Crys, and Falkner walked through the short stretch of forest between Azalea Town and Union Cave, they began to discuss Silver. They knew he had stolen Totodile, but they were unsure if that was his only Pokemon.

"I think so," Gold said. "If it wasn't, why didn't he fight back after his Totodile got knocked out?"

"He could have a strategy, unlike you," Falkner replied.

"Hey!" Gold and Flare yelled in unison.

"Calm down, you two," Crys said, breaking up their quarrel. "Gold's right, he would have fought back. That kid... it doesn't seem like he would hold back."

Falkner was about to argue, but then he remembered that Crys was upset about Silver killing the Lapras. "Yeah..." he agreed.

They continued walking until a man in a black cloak stopped them. "Hey!" he yelled. "You kids can't come through here!"

"Why not?" Gold said. "You don't own the forest."

"'Cause I said so!" the cloaked man answered as he threw out a Pokeball. As it hit the ground, a Snorlax came out. "Snooooooooor-laaaaxxx" it yawned.

"Oh, so that's the way it's gonna be!" Flare said as he jumped off of Gold's head. "You're gonna eat those words!"

"Huh?" Gold said. "What did he say?"

As Flare was answering, the Snorlax jumped at him, and Flare barely got out of the way in time.

"I'll tell you later," Flare said. Then he used Flamethrower, but the Snorlax just brushed it of like it was nothing. Then Snorlax began to glow, and as it lumbered towards Flare, it gained momentum. Finally, it jumped up and used Giga Impact. Flare used Quick Attack to get away, but he was hit by the shockwave of the landing. The Snorlax then sent out a pool of purple liquid that was surely dangerous, but Flare jumped over it and set it on fire with his back, clearing it out.

"Did Snorlax just...?" Falkner asked.

Flare then turned around and used Smokescreen to blind Snorlax, then began to charge up his inner heat. He focused it, and, with a massive blaze on his back, used Flamethrower to set the smoke on fire. In the massive explosion, Flare was knocked back, but the Snorlax was out cold.

"Yeah!" yelled Gold. "That's showin' them how it's done!"

But then the Snorlax began to get up and glow again. As it ran towards Flare, who was too weak to dodge, it was hit by a massive pillar of shimmering air.

"Good Sky Attack, Murkrow!" Falkner said. "Gold, you think Flare and Murkrow could do a little combo? Air Slash, Murkrow!"

Seeing what Falkner meant, Gold had Flare use Flamethrower... at Murkrow's attack. As they collided, the oxygen in the Air Slash caught on fire, but it continued to move towards Snorlax! The sleepy giant couldn't move fast enough with the energy drain from Giga Impact, so it was hit. But Falkner had another plan-he had Murkrow use Whirlwind as soon as the flaming Air Slash hit, and the air and leaves around Snorlax were kicked up and set on fire, finally knocking out the giant Pokemon.

"You think that's all I have?" said the cloaked man as he withdrew Snorlax. "Go, Zubat!"

As soon as the Zubat came out, Flare used Swift and Quick Attack at the same time, surrounding himself with the whirling stars, then smashing into the Zubat, who fell instantly.

"Crap! Zubat, return!" yelled the cloaked man. "Go, Koffing! Use Smog so we can get out of here!"

The purple, balloon-like Pokemon came out, and he let out an especially large amount of purple gas. Flare and Murkrow tried to get in closer, but the gas was too noxious. Flare tried to set it on fire, but this didn't work either. When Murkrow finally cleared out the Smog with Whirlwind, the cloaked man was gone.

"I wonder who that was," Falkner said.


"I-I d-don't kn-now..." Crys replied, stammering. "B-bu... b-bu... h-he didn't s-seem like a v-very good p-person..." It was obvious that she was scared out of her wits.

"What's wrong, Crys?" Falkner asked.

"Maybe it's the poison," Gold guessed. "She has chemophobia, the irrational fear of anything chemical. Her dad was nearly killed by a Muk's Toxic attack."

"She's afraid of poison?" Falkner asked. "Didn't she fight Bellsprout in Sprout Tower..." he slowed down. "Grandpa talked wiht you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So that's why you've been talking to Flare. You can actually hear him, can't you?"

"How'd you figure that out?"

"My grandfather, the caretaker of Sprout Tower, doesn’t let anyone do practically anything in Sprout Tower unless they're worthy, and that basically means the Bellsprout Pillar grants them a gift, generally speech to a Pokemon close to them. He's always complaining about how nobody is worthy these days."

"G-guys?" Crys cried. "H-help... p-please... I'm s-scared..." She was rocking back and forth in the fetal position while Gold and Falkner had their conversation.

"Oh, uh... don't worry, Crys," Falkner said as he walked over to her. "We beat the poison Pokemon, okay?"

"I-if y-you say s-so," she replied. She stood up, still holding herself, while Chicorita and Falkner assured her as they walked toward Azalea Town.

---

When they reached Azalea Town it was already dark outside, so they went to the Pokemon Center for a room. Gold and Falkner shared a bunk while Crys lie down on her own bed. She sobbed quietly throughout the night, but she didn't disturb Gold, who was snoring loudly, or Falkner, who seemed on edge, even while he was asleep.

In the morning, Gold woke up to see that Crys was sound asleep and Falkner was gone. He carefully got up and changed into a black T-shirt, hat, and cargo shorts, forgoing his usual hoodie because of the humidity in Azalea Town. He went to the lobby, and found that Falkner was in the kitchen.

"I hope that you're not cooking for the whole Center," Gold said sarcastically. "Because, you see, this is where people and Pokemon come to get better, not worse."

"Ha-ha," Falkner replied. "I'm not cooking, I'm taking lessons on how to. I'm also gathering supplies to cook with. We don't want anymore of those burnt hamburgers, do we? Hey, where's Flare?"

"Still asleep. I've never seen a Pokemon so lazy yet so fast."

"Hey!" Flare said as he crawled into the kitchen. "I'm not lazy. I just want to store up my energy for evolution. Besides, when I do evolve, I won't ever fit on your head again."

"Yeah, when you're a Typhlosion, I get to ride you."

"Screw you. Now bow down, human, so I can ride you and sleep."

"Hey, Gold, Falkner," Crys said sleepily as she walked in, dressed in a pink nightshirt and -pants with Psyduck on them. "Falkner, are you seriously cooking for the whole Center? Just remember, this is where people and Pokemon come to get better, not worse."

"Not you, too," Falkner said. "Hey, Gold, are you going up against the Gym here? Bugsy just took over for his brother, Aaron, a year ago. He uses Bug-type, and is even more greenhorn at battling than wild Pokemon!"

"He's been a Leader for longer than you and you’re calling him 'greenhorn'?" Crys asked. She still seemed a little shaken from the day before.

"Actually, I've been running the Gym, using my dad's Pokemon, for about five years. That's the great thing about being a Leader-if your family owns the Gym, you can battle in the Gym at any age. Bugsy's only ten!"

"Yeah, sounds like I'll check it out," Gold said.

An hour and good meal made by the Nurse later, Gold was outside the Azalea Gym. As the doors slid open, a young man with green hair and a black shirt stood there.

"Who're you?" he asked coldly.

"I'm Gold. I'm challenging the Azalea Gym. Who are you?"

"I'm Aaron, previous leader of the Azalea Gym. Bugsy's out training for the week, so I'm taking the challenges for now." They walked inside, and Aaron explained the rules - one-on-one, the first one knocked out loses- and accepted his challenge.

"Go, Flare!" Gold said as Flare jumped off of his head and lit his back.

"A Fire-type? So, you're so weak you rely on type advantages to win? I'll show you type advantages aren't everything! Go, Scizor!"

"He says 'type advantages aren't everything' to the kid who beat the Violet Gym with a Bug-Type," Gold said under his breath.

Scizor started out with Bullet Punch, instantly outspeeding Flare and smashing into him with a shining claw. Flare rolled as he hit the ground, and set the grass around him on fire to hide. Scizor drew back from the fire, obviously knowing his biggest-and only- weakness.

Flare shot out using Quick Attack to get behind Scizor, and used Smokescreen to cover himself again. He didn't dare set this on fire, though, because he would take too much damage. He began to search for Scizor, and found him, but only because Scizor used Silver Wind to clear all the smoke. It then came in with another Bullet Punch, sending Flare flying again. However, Flare used Swift and landed on one of the stars, then used Flamethrower on the star, setting him and the star on fire. But because it was only his inner fire, and not an explosion, the fire didn't hurt him. He than spun towards Scizor, knocking out the red mantis.

"But... how?" Aaron said. "How could someone beat my Scizor? It's impossible! Nobody could do it! It couldn't happen-"

"Scizor is unable to battle!" announced the judge. "Cyndaquil and Gold win the match!"

"I know type advantages aren't everything, Aaron," Gold said. "I had to fight Falkner with a Ledian."

"But. Scizor. Can't. Lose." Aaron said, clenching his fists.

Gold was about to leave Aaron to his disbelief, but Scizor got up and ran at Flare, his claws glowing and his eyes showing hatred.

"Scizor! No!" the judge yelled. "The match is over!"

That didn't stop Scizor. It used X-Scissor, and all Flare could do was light the fire on its back to try and get a Flamethrower off- but the fire on his back made Scizor hesitate, just for a fraction of a second, before it got hit by a full-power Flamethrower at point-blank range. Scizor was blown across the room and slammed into the far wall, obviously out cold. Aaron withdrew it and rushed to the Pokemon Center right away.

But Flare began to glow white. He got brighter and brighter, then he grew longer and more muscular. He stopped glowing, and was a Quilava!

"Crap, now I can't ride on your head anymore," he said. "But that doesn't mean I'm going back in that ball. That got old five months ago, when I was caught."

Gold just stood there, gawking.

---

Falkner took Crys out so she could loosen up from her shock while Gold challenged the Gym. They went to a hill at the edge of town, where the closest house belonged to an old man. Falkner brought some food from the Center so he didn't have to cook, and packed it like a picnic. As they stood on the hill, Crys explained about her father. She told Falkner everything, from his poisoning to the doctors saying they had to induce a coma to her fear of him dying. As she sat there, crying, Falkner had a suggestion.

"Do you want to ride on Staravia?" he asked. "He loves to carry people, and he wouldn't mind. It always cheers me up."

"S-sure," Crys said, wiping a tear from her eye as Falkner sent out Staravia. She sat on his back, and Staravia took off. At first she was frightened, but then she realized that Staravia was being very steady. All of a sudden, Falkner came up, riding Pidgeotto like a skateboard.

"See?" he yelled over the wind. "It feels amazing in the sky! The freedom, the fresh air, and the wind rushing through you... this is why the birds sing!"

Crys felt elated. She had never flown before, and she thought it was amazing. They flew around for a few hours with a few breaks and switching Pokemon, but after a while Staravia and Pidgeotto got tired and landed for the day. By this time it was already dusk, and Falkner sent out Murkrow.

"He loves flying blind," he explained. "I found him flying in a pitch-black forest with his eyes closed, and he was flying perfectly. I've trained him to use it, and I'll always let him fly at night, if I can."

He withdrew Pidgeotto and Staravia, and sat down with Crys. Then, Volbeat and Illumise began to come out and glow, creating an amazing scene.

"It looks... beautiful," Crys said, amazed.

"I know," was all Falkner could say. They sat there for a few minutes. Then, without knowing why, Falkner began to lean over to kiss Crys. As he leaned in, Murkrow came in low, and Falkner had to push Crys down so she didn't get hit. When Murkrow hit the ground and rolled, Falkner knew something was wrong. He turned around, and the cloaked man was there, holding Murkrow like a hostage.

"Kid, I'm gonna kill you and this bird of yours."

The Snorlax from the day before came up and ran into Falkner. The last thing he heard before he blacked out was "Just have to kill the other kid, too."

***

There's chapter 4. I FINALLY had time to work on it.

 

[woops]

Thy hast made thy reader happy.

And because I'm lazy, I still feel wondering at what's going to happen next!

 

[Sarcastically Insane]

Yeah, the biggest change I made was canceling out the kiss. And Flare's "Puny human, obey me" moment, which I couldn't resist. When Flare becomes a Typhlosion, pure badassery will ensue. Even though I'm not that far in my draft.

 

[Sarcastically Insane]

It's a little early, but since I won't be here for the weekend...

Chapter Five
Crisis in the Well!

Gold wandered through Azalea Town, looking for Crys and Falkner. Falkner had told him that he was going to cheer Crys up, and Gold thought that Flare's evolution would cheer her up immensely. With a loud crash, Flare came around the corner at full speed, quickly followed by Ledya.

"We didn't see them anywhere," he said, panting.

"Crap, where could they be?" Gold wondered. "It's getting late. Ilex Forest is too gloomy, they aren't in the main town... hey, what about that hill near the edge of the forest?"

"I didn't check there," Flare replied. "Be back in a sec..."

"Wait!" Gold said, drawing looks from the surrounding pedestrians. "You're tired. Back in your Pokeball, and I don't care how uncomfortable it is. You need a rest."

Gold started walking towards the hill, followed by Ledya. The moon started to rise. He left the bulk of the town's buildings, and he saw the hill instantly. It had a small house at its foot, and Volbeat and Illumise were dancing in a spectacular show. When Gold got to the house at the foot of the hill, a man came rushing out.

"I'll kill them if they harm the sacred Slowpoke!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Wait, Grandpa!" a young woman yelled after him. "You'll get hurt!" But the old man was already gone.

"What was he going after?" Gold asked.

"Someone said they saw a shady man go down the Slowpoke Well. It's a sacred place for Azalea Town, because whenever there's a drought, there's always been enough water in the well. My grandfather, Kurt, is the caretaker." When she had said this, a bright, blue light erupted from the east, across town. "That was from the Slowpoke Well!" she yelled.

The blue light dissipated, and Gold rushed off to help the old man, forgetting about Crys and Falkner. About halfway through town, Falkner’s Staravia flew into Gold. It tried to pick him up and drag him towards the Slowpoke Well, but Gold calmed it down. He stopped by the Pokemon Center, asking if someone could take care of it for a while, and rushed towards the Well again.

When he got there, the ground was wet and muddy, and he slipped and fell, sliding towards the hole in the ground that was the Well. He barely managed to grab the edge before he fell, and the Well was very deep, about twenty feet down, but it was bone-dry. Gold reached over to a ladder and climbed down, finding the old man, Kurt, and the bottom.

"Aaaahhhh!" he said. "I slid down and missed the ladder-I think my leg's broken! D-don't worry about me, though! The hooligans who drained the Well are deeper in. I can hear the anguished cries of Slowpoke-help them!"

"But your leg-" Gold said, thinking quickly. He looked around, and had Ledya gather some long, slender sticks. Then he used some rope in his backpack to make a crude splint. "That should hold for now, but don't try to move very far. I'll be back for you later." With that, he rushed off.

When he heard voices, Gold slowed down and began to keep to the shadows, having Ledya stay high to alert him with a quick cry, should anything happen.

"That bird got away-I swear, it caught on fire! I dropped the cage and it broke, then the bird started glowing blue and flew off!" one voice said.

"Those kids that took out the guard are in the back. They put up a fight, too," another voice said.

"The guard got arrogant and bored, attacked the kids just for being there..." Gold didn't hear the rest of the sentence. It was Crys and Falkner! They were in the back, too. Now he knew where they were.

As he snuck around the corner, a guard in black clothes with a red "R" on his chest grabbed him. "Got the third one, too. Now we have three meddling kids. Executive Blake is gonna have fun with this one."

"Or not," Gold said. "Ledya, use Silver Wind!"

As he yelled this, two things happened. The first was, obviously, Ledya using Silver Wind. It knocked away the two guards standing over Gold, but then the bad part happened: all the surrounding guards heard this and sent out their Pokemon. Gold was now surrounded by Ekans, Koffing, Grimer, Gulpin, Zubat, and their direct evolutions.

"Crys is gonna hate me for this," Gold said and he sent out Flare, "but it has to be done. Flare, use Flame Wheel! Ledya, use Bug Buzz!"

As the two carried out their attacks, flying and running through to affect as many as possible, Gold made a mad dash for the back. The guards had told the truth about Staravia, as Gold identified the attack as Brave Bird, and they told the truth about the guard on the road. Why would they lie about his friend's location, in the hardest-to-reach place of the Well? But, as Gold had suspected, the Poison-types didn't care about the two attacking Pokemon. They were after Gold.

Rounding many corners and jumping over small streams, Gold eventually found his way through, powered only by adrenaline. He only came to one fork, and guessed it. He guessed right, too. There was a cage with Crys and Falkner at the end of the corridor.

"Flare, use Flame Wheel on the lock!" Gold shouted, grabbing his friends' attention. Flare rushed past him, jumped up to tackle the lock, and was blocked by a Crobat's Air Cutter.

"Ah-ah-ahh," said a voice. "I can't have you escaping after all the trouble you've caused us. All the Slowpoke tails we're... harvesting are raking in quite the profit. We can't lose that profit to some bratty teenagers, can we? Crobat, would you kindly use Air Cutter on that annoying Ledian?"

The Crobat sent out multiple blades of air, and, though Ledya dodged many of them, they knocked her out. But Flare was on Crobat's case right away, using Swift to keep it occupied and he came in close to slash and tackle. Crobat dodged many of them, but most of the Swift stars and a few tackles and slashes made contact. Then, Crobat caught on fire.

"Huh," Gold said. "I didn't use a fire attack."

"Gold!" Falkner yelled. "It's using Brave Bird! Get away! He's after YOU!"

Gold realized what Falkner said was right, but he couldn't move fast enough. The glowing, blue bat was rushing at Gold, ready to kill him...

"Slowpoke, use Confusion!" someone yelled. Numerous heads reacted faster than people thought Slowpoke could, their anger from losing their tails, along with chances of evolution, feeding their speed. Their eyes glowed purple, and Crobat stopped in midair. Then, it was thrown backwards, hitting the wall with a loud thud.

"Now, Slowpoke, let's drive these hooligans out!" the voice yelled again, and Gold recognized it as Kurt. He turned around, seeing Kurt having a few Slowpoke helping him move. The Slowpoke began to glow purple again, but this time, it was their whole bodies. After about ten seconds, Kurt began to head for the entrance as fast as possible with a broken leg. "Gold, I'd get your friends out quickly, because something bad's about to happen."

Gold turned around, but the guard's leader wasn't there. Gold had Flare break the lock, and Falkner put Crys on Pidgeotto so she didn't see the Poison Pokemon on her way out, then they all sprinted for the exit. Flare led the way for Falkner and Gold, using Flame Wheel to clear out any remaining challengers to his power, while Crys and Pidgeotto flew much quicker and picked up Kurt on the way out. As they began to climb the ladder, Gold withdrew Flare, and noticed that there was an ambient purple glow in the Well. Kurt yelled down, but the words were lost in the hypnotic buzz that began. Something about a Future attack... or seeing, no, Sight. Yeah, that was it.... Then, the purple glow intensified and seemed to explode with massive energy. Gold's vision went from purple to black.

***

And there's almost no change from the original of this chapter. I liked this one, and the next one, a lot.

 

[Sarcastically Insane]

Chapter Six
Hospital Visit

“He’s fading fast! We’ve got to hurry and get him to the ER quickly, or we’re going to lose him!” yelled one of the emergency medical technicians as he and a group of three others quickly loaded Gold's badly injured body onto a stretcher, heading towards a landing zone for a helicopter that would, hopefully, arrive within the minute.

The massive Future Sight attack had caused enough pressure to knock him out, even before it hit. Falkner had sent down Murkrow to grab him, but the attack still grazed him. Kurt had called 911, and Falkner used what little medical knowledge he did know to help Gold. He was nearly dead, and Falkner didn't want to think about what had happened to the other grunts in the Well.

As the helicopter landed to take Gold to Goldenrod City, the nearest hospital, Falkner and Crys were told they couldn't get on. "Family only from this point," the EMT said as the helicopter took off.

"Falkner, can you fly us there?" Crys asked frantically.

"No..." Falkner replied sadly. "Staravia, if I even knew where he was, would be to hurt from Brave Bird, Pidgeotto is still tired from carrying you and Kurt to safety, and Murkrow's too small to carry one of us..."

As they headed towards the Pokemon Center to gather news, Staravia burst out of the door and straight into Falkner, causing quite a ruckus. He cheered Falkner up a bit, but they still had to think of how to get to Goldenrod City.

"What about heading through Ilex Forest?" Kurt suggested.

"There are a hundred and one ways to get lost in the Ilex," Falkner said, "and I don't know the one way to get through."

"I can take you through," a nearby kid said. "I've been through Ilex Forest hundreds of times. In fact, I just got back from training there."

"Huh?" Falkner said. "Training... who would train in the Forest?"

"The Gym Leader, Bugsy," the kid replied.

"Gym Leader?" Falkner said. "I'm Falkner, previous Leader of the Violet Gym. My friend, Gold, challenged the Gym the other day for the badge here. Kurt says he won."

"Aaron probably didn't like that. Where is your friend?"

"D-dying," Crys sobbed. "That's why we need to get through Ilex. H-he's in Goldenrod..."

"How fast can you get us through Ilex?" Falkner asked.

"How fast can you follow me?" Bugsy replied.

As they headed out for Goldenrod City through Ilex Forest, they left Kurt at the Center to receive treatment for his leg, but they told his granddaughter about him at his request.

When they finally got to Ilex forest, Falkner felt vulnerable. He was at the mercy of Bug-types now, his type's food. Surely Bugsy wouldn't try to get revenge for this, would he? There were hundreds, if not thousands, of ways to get lost, and even more places to hide a body...

"This little pond's the last obstacle between Ilex and the short road to Goldenrod," Bugsy said. Falkner could see the edge of the forest, too.

"How do we get across?" Falkner asked.

"The water isn't very deep, but there's lot of sinkholes in the mud. Unless you have a Pokemon to carry you across, you'll have to take the small path right there," he pointed, "turn left at the fork, and after a small walk, you'll be at the forest's opening."

Falkner thanked Bugsy, and Crys sent out Lapras.

"Could you please carry us across the water?" Crys asked. "Our friend is hurt, and we need to get across the water."

"Laaaa," Lapras said, understanding Crys's sadness. It had just lost someone close to it; it didn't want that to happen to someone else. It turned around to allow Crys and Falkner onto her back, and swam off to the other side.

As they left the forest, Crys broke into a run. Goldenrod City was within reach, and it would only take a few minutes to get there!

Falkner ran, but he couldn't keep up with Crys. She had been resting most of the time in the cage, but Falkner had been running around since then, been on edge, and just ran out of energy. He saw a nearby house, and knocked on the door.

"Yeeeeees?" an old lady answered, just before Falkner collapsed.

---

Crys ran through the city limits, checking a map at a four-way intersection to find where the hospital was. She ran through the doors and asked where Gold Igneous was. When the hospital receptionist said that he was resting and only family could see him, Gold's mother came out and noticed Crys.

"Crys, dear, you can come in," she said. "She's with me," she told the receptionist when given a funny look. They walked up to Gold's room as his mother explained his condition. "He had lots of internal bleeding and broken bones. They said that three ribs and his left arm were broken, and all three ribs were on his left side. What happened, Crys?"

Crys explained about the guards, being captured, and Gold saving them. "Oh, no!" she yelled when she realized Falkner was missing. "Where could he be?"

---

Falkner woke up thirty minutes after he fainted. He was in a small bedroom. As he opened the door, the old lady that had answered his knock stood there with a bowl of steaming soup.

"Oh, you woke up!" she said. "Here, sit down and have some soup. It's good for you."

As Falkner gulped the soup, the old lady's husband (or so Falkner assumed) walked in.

"Is this the lad that fainted?" he asked. "I'm surprised he woke up so soon. Lad, your birds are outside flying around. Except for Murkrow, who, I'm afraid, is just sitting there."

"He usually only flies at night," Falkner said between spoonfuls of soup. "Don't worry; he'll take off at dusk."

"No, lad," the old man replied, "he seems to be guarding you. He barely let me through the door!"

Falkner finished his soup and went outside. Murkrow jumped up to him, overjoyed to see him. Falkner tried to withdrawal him, but Murkrow wouldn't go into its Pokeball. Pidgeotto and Staravia came over and went back into their Pokeballs, but Murkrow just jumped up on Falkner's shoulder, like Chicorita did with Crys. Falkner then turned around and asked if he could repay the old couple somehow, and the old lady's eyes lit up.

"Would you, by any chance, know a young boy by the name of Gold?"

"Yes! I was travelling with him- that's where I was going when I fainted. He's in the hospital because he saved me..."

"Oh, dear!" she said. "Could you give him this egg? Mr. Pokemon sent it to us. And, oddly we found another egg in the yard earlier- you can take it. We have no need for it."

"Thank you, I'll make sure he gets it!" Falkner shouted as he ran off with the two eggs in his arms.


Crys paced in the waiting room, comforted by Chicorita, as Gold underwent a third round of surgery. His mother had called many relatives, and she was on the brink of tears. It was obvious from the doctors that it was very possible that Gold wouldn't make it.

Then the door burst open, and a young man in a suit with rings on his arms and blue hair ran up to Gold's mother.

"What's his condition?" he asked urgently.

"Oh, Stevie! Uh, they said, they said he had three broken ribs... and a broken left arm... internal bleeding... and they just found a chipped vertebra, whatever that is..."

"Crap," the guy said, "Gold might lose his left arm..."

"Who are you?" Crys asked.

"Nobody special," he said as he rushed into the ER.

---

Falkner ran straight for the Goldenrod Hospital, already knowing where it was from travelling through Goldenrod when he was a kid. He burst through the hospital doors, flashing his badge (actual police-like badge, not accomplishment) and rushing down the corridor to the ER, not knowing how long he had been out or when it was. He burst into the waiting room to see Crys and Gold's mother, as well as a surgeon talking to them.

"Who are you?!" the surgeon yelled, calming when he saw Falkner's badge. "Do you know Gold Igneous?"

"Yeah, I'm the guy who tried to save him at the scene, Falkner Kaze."

"Falkner!" Crys cried as she ran over and hugged him. "They're saying Gold will probably survive, but he might lose the use of his left arm."

"What happened?" Falkner asked, shocked.

"We stopped the internal bleeding," the surgeon explained, "but he had a chipped vertebra, a spinal bone, and three broken ribs on his left side, as well as a broken left arm. We were able to set the arm, but the vertebrae contained the nerve that controls the left arm, severely damaging it, and the three broken ribs will take a while to heal. I'd say he's going to be here for at least a week, and under surveillance for at least two. But he will survive, don't worry."

Another person walked out of the ER, but he wasn't dressed like a surgeon. He had a type of suit on, and weird blue hair and metal ring on his arms. "I checked out the spinal cord with Metagross's psychic abilities; his arm will be fine, as long as he lets it heal. Knowing Gold, though, we should still keep him for the week, and observe him for a week afterward."

"Who are you?" Falkner asked.

"I'm Gold's cousin and a... noteworthy battler in Hoenn. I postponed all my challenges when I heard Gold was in trouble. And he just started his adventure!"

"Well, if he's okay, I guess I can take a rest," Falkner said. "Ms. Igneous, Crys, do you want to come to the Pokemon Center with me?"

As they set off, Gold's cousin hung around in the lobby, on edge the whole time. He had heard about the guards from the police report, and he didn't like it at all...

***

That's chapter six. I changed a few things, most notably postponing Gold's cousin's identity's revelation for a while.

 

[Pidgeot]

Thats cool. Just wanna say that I'm planning my new hit fanfic, 'Spirits'.

 

[Sarcastically Insane]

these two chapters, and chapter... 10? are my favorite so far. They were the ones that jumped out and said "screw your original crapsack plot, this has blood originality!"

 

[SerenaKetchum]

I'm loving the redux! very well written schtuff!

 

[Sarcastically Insane]

Yeah, it's tons easier to write now that I just edit the old chapters

 

[woops]

Ah, the hospital. I liked this part in the original, and I like it more now. I've always liked hospitals in stories. Don't know why, I just do.

 

[Sarcastically Insane]

OH NOES! NOT THE SECOND PAGE! I MUST AMMEND THIS!

***

Chapter Seven
A Battle of Legends
(Three Years Prior)
Red walked silently towards the end of the tunnel. He knew that Lance was waiting for him, and he had a plan. With the eight Badges, he could disable the barrier around the Indigo Plateau, letting finally face off with Lance.

In the final battle, Red would use Kingdra right off. With its Dragon qualities, it was strong against other Dragons, but weak at the same time. Using the mystical Dragon Dance, Kingdra would become faster and stronger, would then use Smokescreen, then unleash a tackle imbued with that same mystical power. Kingdra would then to defend itself from Lance’s attacks, and use Hydro Pump, Draco Meteor, and Outrage to finish the battle. His Venusaur would also be a big attacker, and Steelix could defend for a long time. Espeon and Umbreon were amazing when they worked together, and Rapidash was a last-resort speed attacker.

“Lance!” he yelled. “I know you’re there!” He began to put the badge in the lock to dismantle the barrier.

“Right here!” a voice yelled, followed by Lance and one of his Dragonite flying down. He had stopped wearing his usual attire, a black track suit with his clan’s symbol in red on the front, and instead had on a suit of red-and-black armor with another billowing cape. The armor was made from bendable, impenetrable dragon scales, flaring off of his shoulders and waist. “Are you ready?”

Red just gripped Kingdra’s Pokeball. “Does it matter?” was all that he said as he launched the metallic sphere, watching as it crashed into the ground and split open, releasing a bright flash that solidified and turned into Kingdra, one of the cornerstones of his team.

“Now the battle begins,” Lance said, sending Dragonite out to battle Kingdra.

Kingdra twisted and ducked under fireballs sent out from Dragonite, performing the ancient Dragon Dance. Then he turned and shot off towards Dragonite, ramming him, then jumping up and twisting, smashing his tail into Dragonite’s face. Dragonite grabbed his tail and threw him across the plateau, watching it skid to a stop. As Dragonite’s claws began to glow and lengthen, he raised his arm above his head and swiped it down, sending out a wave of power that sliced through Kingdra.

“You underestimated me, Red,” Lance said. “Sure, dragons are weak to their own kind, but Kingdra is a dragon, too. You used a double-edged sword and got cut worse than me.”

Red said nothing, just recalled Kingdra and threw out Steelix’s ball. Steelix appeared for only a second, instantly digging deep into the earth. Dragonite flew up and wrapped itself in a mystical glow, which intensified when Steelix burst out of the ground, jumping up. However, Steelix couldn’t get high enough to attack Dragonite and began to fall down. Then Dragonite swooped down and tackled Steelix in the air. Steelix went down hard, and Dragonite thought he had won another battle, and turned his attention to Red, flying at him. Right before he made contact, he was engulfed in green flames from Steelix, who could still fight. Lance, enraged, sent out a Gyarados, but Red recalled Steelix and sent out Espeon and Umbreon.

Espeon charged its fur the way its twin, Green’s Jolteon, had taught it to, and unleashed it in a focused beam of electricity, severely damaging Gyarados. Umbreon disappeared into thin air, and tackled Dragonite, reappearing and biting and blinding him with his glowing rings. Dragonite threw him off, but Umbreon spewed a toxic substance that Espeon manipulated with its psychic powers. Umbreon landed on all fours and jumped up, but was hit by Gyarados’s Hyper Beam. As it smashed into the ground, it faded, revealed to be a Substitute. Then, as Gyarados was recharging, Umbreon used Payback, returning the damage that Gyarados did to the Substitute. Dragonite started to charge at them, but Espeon used Trick Room, making it so that the slower you tried to move, the faster you went, and vice-versa. Because Dragonite was going so fast, it nearly stopped, but Gyarados began to move much faster. Red knew that he only had one option left, so he had both Espeon and Umbreon use Last Resort. Their eyes became wide, and adrenaline rushed through their bloodstream. Their instincts told them that they were backed into a corner, and they unleashed their full feral ferocity. Espeon unleashed psychic attack after psychic attack, and Umbreon spewed poison and clawed at his opponents. Together, they took out Gyarados and Dragonite, but the attack took its toll on them- they were too worn out to battle anymore.

Red sent out Steelix again, and Lance used Garchomp. However, all of the toxins that Umbreon had released were still contaminating the battlefield, poisoning Garchomp, but not Steelix, as he was immune to poison. Both Pokemon were from deep in the earth’s crust, so they didn’t expect to hit the other with a surprise attack from under the earth. Garchomp used Flamethrower and Steelix used Dragonbreath, both sending out a fire that could hit the other vitally. As the streams of fire met, they flared outward, creating a shield of yellow flame. Garchomp then shot forward, running through both fires and taking extensive damage, but making contact with Steelix, knocking them both out.

“Your Steelix is truly amazing,” Lance said mockingly, “being able to survive long enough to attack. It is, at least, not horrendously weak like most of my challengers.”

“I don’t care what you think,” Red replied. “I trained with my Pokemon, and nobody could ever defeat my next Pokemon. My first Pokemon, Oak’s first Pokemon, an incredible source of wisdom… GO, VENUSAUR!”

Venusaur appeared, and the massive Pokemon roared, letting its ferocious presence take hold. It was as old as the mountains, one of the last of the Ancients, and this fool in dragon armor was the cause of his losses.

Venusaur was mad, plain and simple.

In response, Lance released his first Pokemon, Charizard. Charizard had saved Lance’s life its share of times, and Lance had never let any harm come of Charizard. It was one of Lance’s last few emotions- love for his Charizard.

Venusaur gathered energy in a green sphere and instantly unleashed it, showing its massive attack speed. Charizard flew up and sent a powerful Flamethrower at Venusaur, but Venusaur used Earthquake to cause the ground to rise up in a shield around him, blocking the attack. He then sent out many sickle-like leaves, slashing through the shield and cutting Charizard. Enraged, Charizard used the air itself as a blade, sending it back at Venusaur. It made contact, and Venusaur took a lot of damage, but nothing unbearable. Red realized that he had to end the battle fast, though, or Charizard would use its massive type advantage to prevail. With no other option, Red had Venusaur use Frenzy Plant, causing massive trees to emerge from the ground, each with explosive pods inside. Lance saw what was happening and had Charizard use Blast Burn, the Fire equivalent of Frenzy Plant. The dragon-like Pokemon gather massive energy in its jaw and sent it out in a powerful, explosive sphere. As the two attacks met, the resulting explosion ripped the plateau in two, sending Lance and Red flying in opposite directions.

Charizard flew down to protect Lance and Venusaur sent out vines to grab Red. However, the massive fissure between the two meant that their battle wouldn’t happen anytime soon. Red recalled Venusaur and set out on his Rapidash, calling Blue to tell him what had happened.

***

A few things to point out: yes, I'm using Lances GSC attire instead of his HGSS because it's more epic and overlord-y. And Espeon did use Charge Beam, which it can't legally know, but this is my story, and Green is just that awesome of a breeder.