Song Three: Maps

(Album: A Fever to Tell)

Pairing Three: Lolishotashipping (Steven Stone/Cynthia)

STILL don't own Pokémon, its characters, the song, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kit Kats, tubas, syphilis, Steven Seagal, the second Reich, Goodyear, South Korea…

This was the song that did it for me: I fell for YYY when I first heard this song one day in eighth grade… well, I particularly love how this Fic came out. I ADORE this pairing—this is the hetero version of Eliteundershipping for me! I hope I did the couple justice with this story, so please read and enjoy—and PLEASE review (I NEED IT) but NO NO NO NO NO FLAMES, please. If you love the pairing, let me know! I'm planning on making more Lolishota later! So, without any further ado, here's the story!

~Bon Apatite~

"Good morning, students!" a young teacher's aide walked into his class of elementary-aged future Trainers, running amok the classroom. All the children stopped their playing to greet their instructor.

"Good morning, Professor Birch!" the children said in unison. Professor Birch was a volunteer aide at the Rustboro Pokémon Trainer's school, helping the new generations to become great trainers, Gym Leaders, or even to be one day's Champion of the Hoenn region.

"Yes, everyone, today will be an exceptional morning," Birch placed a bag containing Pokéballs on his desk.

A little boy with silvery blue hair and eyes shot his hand up in the air, "Professor!"

With an all-knowing smile, the young man turned. "Yes, Stevie?"

"Those Pokéballs… are we gonna battle today?" his eyes glimmered at the sight of the Pokéballs; little Stevie Stone was a hard working trainer-in-progress, and no one had more drive than him. He went home every day to study Pokémon and how they worked, how they communicated, how they bonded—Stevie dreamed of the day he would actually take charge of a Pokémon, to command and train like all the greats, and today would start his journey.

Birch smiled and picked up a ball, releasing a Torchic. "Exactly what I was getting to, Stevie. Class, today we are going to test our progress by actually having Pokémon battles!"

All the children cheered, and Stevie stayed silent, a huge smile starched across his face.

"Well, after we review our notes, then I'll hand these out individually, then we may proceed with the battles," a knock on the door interrupted the aide, "oh! Hold on class, I need to answer this! Feel free to pet the Torchic!" he left outside the door.

Stevie was first to run to the small chick, all his classmates following. "Wow, you're so cute!" he patted the Pokémon's head, earning an affectionate cry back.

"Aw, Stevie! Look, it likes you!" said Roxy, the smartest girl in class.

"Can I pet him, too?" Brawly said, reaching his hand out.

"Yeah, he's friendly!" Stevie smiled.

"Hm. Whatever. I could easily beat that Fire type with a Water type." scoffed Wallace.

Stevie shot a glare at Wallace. The two boys have been rivals since birth; Wallace was always pompous and cocky, and Stevie was down to earth and cool—neither liked the other.

"Whatever, Wally, you're just jealous 'cause it likes me…" Stevie mumbled. Wallace looked back at him, the two making the air very tense.

"Class, I have an announcement!" Birch stepped not a moment too soon, stopping a potential fight between the boys. Everyone turned to the door to listen as the Professor spoke. "We have a new future trainer joining us today! This works to our advantage, because we would have an even number of students!"

A small hand clung onto Birch's lab coat. "It's ok, they don't bite! Well, all of them except Sid that is…" Birch said, hearing said redheaded boy let out a snicker.

"But everyone is so different…" a small voice whispered. "It's ok, really! They'll like you; just don't sit next to Sidney!"

"Class, I'd like you all to meet our new student," he moved aside to reveal her—thin, pale, with platinum blond hair in pigtails(decked out with black frilly bows), dressed in a cute lacy black blouse/skirt combo. Everyone was looking at her, especially little Stevie.

"She's pretty…" his eyes were as wide as they were when seeing the Pokéballs. The girl's grey eyes met with Stevie's silvery ones, the boy quickly darting to the side, blushing slightly.

"This is Cynthia, class. She's not from around here, so please make her feel welcome. Do you mind if we called you 'Cindy', Miss Cynthia?" Birch said, taking the girl's hand. "That's ok. No one ever calls me that, though." She said.

He walked her to the middle of the class where all the kids were petting the Torchic.

"Oh, wow! What kind of Pokémon is that?" she jumped, running to hug the chick. "It's super cute!"

"Ha ha, she'll be just fine…" Birch told himself.

The class all wanted to meet Cindy at the same time.

"Hi, Cindy! Welcome to Rustboro!" Roxy smiled.

"So, you're not from Rustboro? That's ok, I'm not either. I'm from Mossdeep City, but my dad works here," Stevie started, "and Wally over there is from Sootopolis, and Brawly is from Dewford. Which city are you from?" the boy asked.

Cindy hugged the Torchic close to her, blushing and averting everyone's eyes.

"I…I'm not from any city…"

The children looked at her with confusion.

"What do you mean you're not from a city? Everyone's from a city," Wallace argued.

"Well, maybe she's from a forest! You don't know!" Stevie piped up, angry at Wallace's assumptions.

Cindy giggled. "No, sillies, I'm not from a city in Hoenn!"

The children gasped. "That's impossible! Where are you from then, outer space?" little Winona cried.

The other children gasped at the thought, but Roxy rolled her eyes. "No, you dummies, she means she's from another region! There are other regions besides Hoenn, you know!"

"Ohhhh…." The kids said in unison.

"Ok, then you're from a forest in what region?" Stevie asked.

Cindy laughed and laughed at these children. She already felt at home. "I'm not from a forest at all! I live in a region called Sinnoh. It's way up north, so it's always cold!"

"Wow, that's cool! We have a volcano here, so we don't have a lot of cold days, 'cept for winter," Stevie was completely entranced by this new girl—if there really were other regions out there, and they all had girls as pretty as Cindy, Stevie thought, then he had more motivation to become a traveling trainer.

"Do they have Pokémon in Sinnoh?" Winona asked.

"Mm-hm! And I even started school over there, so I know lots about Pokémon already. I'm ready to become a trainer, and one day, I'll even be a champion!" Cindy cheered, her face beaming with excitement. Stevie felt his heart pop out of his chest. A girl who shared his dreams and passions—Stevie was in love.

Or perhaps it was just a little Poochyena crush—who knows?

"Well, everyone, I'm glad to see that we're all making friends with Miss Cindy—so if everyone will sit in their seats, we can go over our notes and battle, ok?" Birch drifted to the front of the class.

Cindy let the Torchic go, watching it run to the Professor.

"Hey, Cindy, wanna sit next to me? I don't like sitting next to Sid very much." Stevie suggested. The blonde girl nodded and smiled, taking the boy's hand. Little Stevie blushed.

"Um…right this way!" he shook, not being familiar with this sensation. Her hands were soft, and he wondered what soap she uses to make her hands that way. He liked that. In fact, he liked many things about her—she smelled nice and wasn't very talkative, and she liked Pokémon as much as Stevie did—Cindy was one of those girls one would only meet once in a lifetime.

"Alright, open your books to page 30…"

~Top Ten Percent of Zigzagoons, Bitch~

"Alright, everyone, gather 'round! I will present to you your Pokémon!" Birch held eight Pokéballs, handing one to each student.

"Ok, Winona, you get Whismur, and Brawly gets Makuhita," Birch moved down the line, "Roxy has Nincada, Sid gets Poochyena—"

"Yes!" Sid threw his fist in the air. He was always fond of the Dark types.

"Larry gets Zigzagoon, Stevie gets Torchic," Stevie's face lit up; he was joined with the Pokémon that had already bonded with him. "For Wallace, a Spheal," Wallace gave Stevie a malicious smirk, happy that not only did he get the type he preferred, but it also had an advantage over Torchic. "Last but not least, for Miss Cindy, a Castform. Now, go ahead and show off your Pokémon, kids!"

The children threw the Pokéballs in the air, releasing their new friends.

Instantly, the children grew attached to the Pokémon, eager to battle.

"Now, I'll go ahead and assign the matches! I want Roxy and Brawly to battle first," Birch started.

Roxy sighed in discontent—Brawly was a rough fighter.

"Then we'll have Winona against Sid—and the only one who should be biting is the Pokémon, right, Sid?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Sid scoffed.

"Next will be Stevie against Larry."

Larry grinned. "I'll show you, Stevie! I will win this battle!" Stevie smirked. "Ok, Larry. Whatever you say."

"And last, it will be Cindy versus Wallace! This will be fun, and remember—it's not about winning, just about having a great Pokémon experience!" Birch concluded. Wallace walked up to Cindy with the Spheal in his arms.

"So, new girl, I bet you're scared now. You should be; I'm a good trainer." Wallace smiled.

Cindy smiled back. "Actually, I think me and Castform can take you on. We can win if we try! I'll make everyone back home proud if I win this battle!"

Wallace rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever, new girl. But just you wait, after I win this, I'll win many more battles and become champion of all Hoenn one day. I'll beat Stevie to champion, at least." Stevie shot his eyes over to Wallace.

"You know I want to be champion, too, Wallace! It's fair game! And who's to say that, oh, I don't know, Cindy won't become champion?" Stevie barked; his Torchic was riled with as much gusto as his trainer.

Cindy was taken aback by the comment. "I hope I become a champion one day. Ruling Hoenn would be great, but ruling Sinnoh…" Cindy trailed off in thought.

~The Battles of one Thousand Bloodshed Swords Carried on for Twenty six years~

The day grew long, battles were won and lost, and someone somewhere is atop Mt. Chimney plotting ill science. Some kids accepted defeat gracefully, as did Winona and Roxy, and others weren't as accepting—Larry ran off after his battle with Stevie yelling something about how he'll pay for his loss, by one day flooding him with power (whatever that meant). We were down to the last battle of the evening—Cindy versus Wallace: both Castform and Spheal on their last legs, the redundance going back from 'Ice Beam' to 'Flamethrower'—who will win, we ask? Let us find out!

Wallace and Cindy both heaved heavy breaths, sweating and tired from the battle they've endured all day. The other children looked on anxiously, Stevie having the most intense feelings for this battle—it was his battle in a way, as he felt he was battling through Cindy, whose commands were unbelievably masterful for her age. It was crucial that she win this match against his life-long rival.

"Come on, Spheal, you can do it! Try one more time with Powder Snow!" Wallace commanded, face red with heat. The seal gave its cry, breathing out puffs of snowballs at the Castform. Castform was hit hard, not too far from fainting by this point.

"Wah! Come on, Castform! Get up! We can still win this! Oh, please, please get up Castform!" Cindy's composure was lost in this sudden shock, terrified she might lose the match she's tried so hard at. Stevie looked at the damsel in distress with worried eyes. She couldn't lose this! Stevie rooted for her and will stick by that until the bitter end. Not being able to hold his words in any longer, Stevie stood up.

"Cindy! Don't give up! I know you can win this! Believe in Castform, too! You can do it, Cindy! I'm cheering for you!" Stevie yelled, an energetic fist punching the air. Birch turned to Stevie with an annoyed look at first, then softened his face when the realization hit him.

"…Heh, oh, Stevie. Isn't that just like you?" he mumbled.

Cindy looked back at her admirer with hopeful eyes.

"…I can do this!"

"Ok, Castform! Get up!" Cindy commanded. Wallace laughed haughtily.

"Do you still think you can win this? I can easily knock you out!" as sure of himself as he appeared to be, he knew his Spheal was badly weakened, one strong blow could knock it out easily. Wallace knew to expect the worst, but was still committed to winning.

"It's not over yet! Castform, gather up all the energy you can!" Cindy raved. Castform slowly got up and bided as much energy as it possibly could. Wallace's eyes widened, not knowing what Cindy had up her sleeve.

I hope this works!

"Castform, Solar Beam!" Cindy shouted, straining her voice in the process. As commanded, the small Pokemon strained itself, unleashing a ray of light at the Spheal, hitting dead-on. Wallace was blown back when the Spheal was sent flying, the hit knocking it out.

"Spheal is unable to battle! Castform wins! This match goes to Miss Cindy!" Birch called.

Stevie gasped, looking at his other classmates, who all had the same expression on their faces.

"Whoo! YES! Go Cindy! I knew you could do it, I knew you could! Oh, Cindy, hooray! Whoo!" Stevie cheered, fist pumping and jumping around. The others clapped and cheered for Cindy, and Birch smiled and walked over to the trainers.

Cindy walked over to Wallace, offering her hand. Wallace shook his head and groaned.

"That was a good game, Wally! You and Spheal were amazing! I hope to battle you again one day!" Cindy said, exhausted but proud of her opponent's skill. Wallace looked at her hand with dismay, at first going to smack it away, but then decided it was best to take it.

"Thanks…" Wallace whispered, holding his wounded Spheal in his arms. A sudden burst of light fell onto the Spheal, quickly disappearing from the boy's arms. He looked up in shock, seeing Birch with a Pokéball.

"You two were amazing! Wallace, you've progressed since last time, and I am very impressed with you, Cindy. Your first day, and you've proven to be a formidable opponent! I wouldn't be surprised if one day you became some sort of top trainer!" Birch congratulated, taking both children's hands and leading back to where all the other kids were.

"Cindy! Cindy!" Stevie ran up to the girl, hugging her tightly. "I knew you would win! You were so awesome out there!"

Cindy blushed deeply, stunned at the boy's touch. Stevie then realized what he had done and quickly stepped away from her, blushing as well.

"Um…thanks, Stevie. That was nice of you to cheer me on that way." Cindy said, averting the boy's gaze.

There was a sort of awkward silence between the two, neither one not knowing what to say next.

"Oooooh! Stevie's got a girlfriend, Stevie's got a girlfriend!" Sid teased.

Stevie turned to the boy, face redder than before.

"Shut up, Sid!"

Brawly chimed in, "Stevie and Cindy! Ha ha! Stevie and Cindy!" the blue-haired boy ran around repeating.

"Siiiiiiid! Shaddap!" Stevie whined. The other kids laughed, as well as Cindy and Birch, and even Wallace. The day was already at the evening mark, and Birch grew concerned.

"Children! You all better get to going home! Your parents must be worried by now! Remember, class, review your notes for next week! I am very proud of all of you, and keep up the good work. Have a nice weekend, kids!"

The kids all ran off, Wallace hesitating.

"Oh, come on, Wally! Your mom is gonna get mad if you don't hurry!" Winona grabbed Wallace's hand, pulling him with her out the doors. Stevie walked to Cindy, a nervous wreck.

"S…So, Cindy, do you live around here?" the silver-haired boy asked.

"I'm on my way to a hotel in Lilycove," Cindy responded. "My mom is waiting for me."

"Oh…well, can I walk you over to your mom? My dad is taking me home, too." Stevie asked.

Cindy smiled and took Stevie's hand. "Sure."

~Oh, Arceus, my hand has Blisters~

Author: M'kay, here it is. Chapter one of three. This is how Cynthia and Steven met—in the most adorable way possible. Here are some answers to future questions: 1. In my head, all these characters are around the same age in actuality. 2. Birch is becoming a professor at this age, just not quite there yet. 3. (SPOILER) Larry is a made-up dude who works for Team Aqua later on 4. Cynthia had to have gotten her love for adventure and travelling from somewhere, so head-cannon says that she used to move around a lot as a kid 5. I don't know how Pokémon battles really work, ergo I fail at writing them out 6. I KNOW CASTFORM DOES NOT LEARN SOLAR BEAM BY LEVELING UP—It learns by TM, I KNOW! 7. I ship Winona/Wallace, too. So, yeah. I'll be done with Chapter Two later. Spread the Lolishota and Gracefulshipping love!