Okay, this story takes place somewhere in the Unova region, so B/W Pokemon are involved in this. Just so you know.

A/N: Oh, and the protagonist's party is vaguely based on my party in Pokemon Black. If you recognize my name, or if you've traded with me, send me a pm, so I can check up on how the Pokemon I traded you is doing! ^^

Disclaimer: If I owned Pokemon, there wouldn't be nearly as many ridiculous Pokemon in the latest generation. Like that ice-cream-cone Pokemon? Seriously, what's up with that? Therefore, I don't own it.


I was excited. For the first time in over three years, I was getting to return to my favorite place. Chikawa Village. It was quiet, it was secluded, and above all, it was natural. Apart from the train line one had to take to it, there was almost no technological interference in the lives of the citizens. My grandmother, whom we were going to visit, was the ex-wife of the mayor of the town, and one of the strongest trainers who lived there.

Looking out the window of the train, I watched the trees race by, trying to catch glimpses of the native Pokemon. Sewaddle, Swadloon, Venipede, Whirlipede, and the occasional Leavanny and Scolipede were all living peacefully in the forest that surrounded the town for miles.

"I don't get what the big deal is." Oh. That's right, my sister was coming, too. Shoot... Rolling my eyes and bracing myself for more of her "poor-little-rich-girl" routine, I turned away from the window to tune out whatever the hell she had to say. "I don't understand why we have to go visit Grandma. I mean, seriously, this place is soooo boring."

Sighing, I tried again in vain to change her view. "Well, maybe if you tried having an open mind, you wouldn't be so miserable and unpleasant to be around, Lauren." At eight years old, she was a terror. Her one Pokemon, a Gothorita, was just as moody as she was, and even more dangerous. Both she and the Psychic-type were sitting across from me, arms crossed, bottom lip out.

"Hmph. Whatever." Our mom had to force her to go. I went willingly. Speaking of Mom, she was in another cabin so she wouldn't have to deal with Lauren. Thanks, Mom. Thanks a bunch.

My first Pokemon, now a Samurott, was currently racing through the river alongside the train. I waved to it, and it let out an awe-inspiring cry as it leapt out of the water, spinning. My other five Pokemon were in their Pokeballs, since the train's management only allowed each rider one Pokemon to be out at a time.

After an hour of anticipation on my part and exasperation on my sister's, we arrived. Finally! "Hello, Chikawa Village!" I cried as I jumped out of the train car. Several of the residents were elderly, and had practically watched me grow up, so I was familiar.

"Ryusei!" The town's 'gatekeeper,' Riley, was, to my knowledge, the youngest person who lived here year-round. He was only five years older than me, and he'd played with me every time I'd come when I was smaller. Now, I was fifteen and he was twenty. "Hey, buddy, how are you?" he asked, jogging towards me, his long light brown hair pulled back into his usual ponytail.

"I'm doing great, Riley! It's great to see you again!" I replied, hugging my best human friend ever.

"I don't wanna go, Mom!" Seriously, Lauren? I sighed. That would be her.

Riley and I both turned to see Mom struggling with Lauren as the eight-year-old was clinging to the train doorway. "I don't care!" Mom yelled back. "You'll stay here, whether you like it or not!" After several minutes of prying, Lauren finally relinquished her grip on the train, and Gothorita stepped out, looking bored. "Phew... Hello, Riley!" she said pleasantly, her usual good mood back again. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Mrs. Randella. Hi, Lauren!" Riley was friendly to everybody, regardless of whether or not they were friendly back.

"..." Lauren responded by sticking out her tongue, crossing her arms, and sitting down on the ground, determined to not enjoy herself here.

"Ahahaha! They sure are terrors at eight, aren't they?" he asked Mom, who simply nodded and sighed.

There was a large splash at the riverside, and Samurott landed next to me, playfully nuzzling Riley. "Riley, you remember my Oshawott, right?"

"Whoa! Well, while you were gone, I've been busy, too!" He reached for his belt, jumping back.

"Oh, well, I guess we better go. Come on, Lauren," Mom chided, dragging Lauren on the ground as she left us to our battle. Gothorita, unpredictable as ever, helped Mom by lifting Lauren's body in order to lighten Mom's load.

"Go, Serperior!" Riley called, and his Pokeball soared into the air. It opened, releasing white light which quickly took form.

A giant green Grass-type snake landed on the ground before me, reared its head back and cried, trilling. Samurott and Serperior quickly stepped forward to greet each other, smiling and nudging each other, before jumping back into their battle stances.

"Wait! Shall we make this interesting? I've always wanted to try a Double Battle!" I suggested.

Riley grinned. "Sure! Why not?" We both reached for another Pokeball, and in seconds, the playing field's occupants had doubled in number.

"Let's go!"

"Come on!"

"Lampent!"

"Boldore!"

The fighters were as follows:
Me: Samurott, Lampent;
Riley: Serperior, Boldore;

Odds not leaning in either side's favor, I began the game. "Lampent, Protect! Samurott, Surf!" A tidal wave washed over the field, Samurott on top of it, Lampent hiding within its shield.

Serperior was unfazed, but Boldore wasn't doing very well. I expected it to fall down right then and there. Miraculously, however, it remained shakily standing. "Serperior! Leaf Tornado!" Samurott was caught up in the vortex, while Serperior seemed to be laughing at it. "Boldore, Stone Edge!" Their combos were amazingly well-practiced. The Stone Edge had been expertly aimed and timed so as to hit Samurott while it was in the vortex. Serperior eventually ceased its tornado, and Samurott crashed to the ground.

"Ah! Samurott!" I cried. Wincing, the Formidable Pokemon struggled to remain standing. "Aerial Ace, quickly! Lampent, Flame Burst!"

Riley was fooled. "Serperior, Protect!" Thinking itself safe behind its wall of energy, Serperior could only watch the Flame Burst shatter against the shield as Aerial Ace removed what little remaining health Boldore had left. My diversion tactic had worked. "Oh, no! Boldore!"

The Rock-type trembled before collapsing, leaving Riley with one fewer Pokemon than me. "What next, Riley, my friend?"

"..." He thought for a moment, then called, "Excadrill! I need you!" The Subterrene Pokemon flew out from the Pokeball and onto the field.

"Riley!" A panicked girl, about two or three years older than me, was running towards our battlefield, cutting our battle short. "Riley! There are some strange people in the forest, and they're defiling the temple!"

Riley's expression changed from competitive to bewildered to infuriated. "Take me there, Erica! Sorry, Ryusei, we'll have to continue this later!" he yelled, calling his Pokemon back as he began to dash off.

"Are you kidding me? I'm coming, too! Samurott, return! Lampent, you too!" I called as I followed.

We arrived at Chikawa Temple just as the villains were finishing up their work. 'Defiling' wasn't quite the right word, though. 'Robbing' was more accurate. There were two people, a man and a woman, in strange uniforms leaving the temple with several PokeBalls in their possession. "Hold it!" Riley shouted. "Who are you and what the hell do you think you're doing?"

The male answered, stowing his loot in his bag, "We are Team Plasma! We are freeing these Pokemon from their abusive trainers, as are our leader's orders!"

"That's wrong!" I countered. "If they really do belong to people, then those Pokemon belong to elderly people! They depend on those Pokemon for their health and happiness!"

This time, it was the female. "Yeah, we know! They depend on them too much! These poor Pokemon are constantly under their trainers' thumbs, so we're liberating them!"

Riley and I both drew from our belts as they followed suit. "You'll never leave with those Pokemon!" Riley cried. "We won't allow it!"

The fighters appeared.

"Zweilous!"

"Musharna!"

"Timburr!"

"Woobat!"

And so, the battle began.

"Zweilous, Crunch!"

"Musharna, Psychic!"

Their Pokemon didn't last past that turn. "Now," Riley began, an odd look on his face. "Unhand those Trainers' Pokemon, or face further consequences." I'd never seen him this angry before.

"Plasmaaaaaaaaa~!" the thugs cried. "Run away!" They dropped their bundles, and ran off.

I sighed in relief. "Well, that was easy! Riley?" Beside me, Riley was still breathing heavily, his chest heaving. It was then that I noticed a physical change that had occurred over the past three years. Without my knowing it, Riley had gotten very muscular. The veins in his neck were bulging out, and his eyes were wild. "Riley! Hey, snap out of it! They're gone!" I waved a hand in front of his face, but he remained unresponsive.

I didn't know it then, but something awful almost happened, if it hadn't been for Erica's quick thinking. "Um, Ryusei! Why don't I take you back home?" she proposed timidly, stepping out from behind a tree.

"What's wrong with Ri-"

"Oh, he's just very strongly attached to this place, and he gets really worked up whenever something happens to it. He'll be fine, he does this all the time. Come on, let's get you back home," she said more forcefully, grasping my upper arms and leading me away from the temple.


"So, how do you know so much about Riley, Erica?" My mom poured tea while asking Erica. After we'd returned to the village, Erica had brought me to my grandmother's house, and Mom had invited her over for tea, insisting Erica stay for a while. Shyly, Erica happily obliged.

"Oh, we've been friends for several years. And, um, something else recently, too..." She trailed off at the end, blushing.

Mom gasped audibly, Lauren gagged and continued coloring with Gothorita, and I was just plain confused. "What?" I half-demanded, not used to being out of the loop when it concerned my friends. "What? What are they?"

Erica, blushing redder than a Darmanitan, replied, "We're engaged," showing us the ring on her finger.

... What?

Mom squealed, acting very much like the schoolgirl she really was, and asked, "Ooh, when's the wedding, when's the wedding?" while bouncing up and down slightly.

"This week!" Her bright blue eyes shining, Erica answered, brushing her slightly-longer-than-shoulder-length, dark-chocolate-colored hair behind her ear. "Riley wanted to get married while you guys were visiting! Will you help me get ready? I don't know the first thing about making a dress!" She was less reserved now, I noticed.

Mom practically fainted out of sheer excitement. "Of course!"

Hearing this, Erica proceeded to go into deeper description of the wedding details. "I got Wendy to be the one who marries us, and Riley wants you to be the best man, Ryusei, and Lauren can be the flower girl if she wants to!" At this, she glanced over at Lauren, whose face brightened unexpectedly.

"Oh, my gosh!" she exclaimed. "I've always wanted to be part of a wedding! You were right, Ryusei! This place isn't so bad!"

I remained silent, stunned into inability to speak by this news. "Where will you be living?" Mom asked.

Still excited, Erica proudly declared, "We're going to help our Pokemon help us build a house close to the temple, so we can keep an eye on it! We're so excited!"

Wait a second... Erica was a Trainer? "You're a Trainer?" I asked suddenly.

Erica fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment, then replied, "Well, sort of. I have Pokemon, but I don't battle very often. I stopped long ago."

Springing up from my seat, narrowly missing sending the tea on the table flying, I half-shouted, "Well, why didn't you say so? Will you battle me? Please?"

She looked uncertain for a little bit, but then Mom stepped in. "I'm sorry, Erica. You see, Ryusei's father left a long time ago on a search for power. Ryusei was five when I told him, and he became strongly convinced that his father had done the wrong thing. So, now, he intends on becoming as strong as possible before leaving to find his father, so that he'll win and prove his father wrong." She then gave me a look that said, 'You apologize this instant, young man!'

However, upon hearing this, Erica's expression lit up with understanding. "Oh, I see! Yes, of course I'll help you reach your goal, Ryusei! I'll always be willing to help any friend of my fiancée's," she proclaimed, smiling as she stood up. "Let's go outside!" I was in for the hardest battle yet.


Yup, cliffhanger! Trust me, the ensuing battle is short, but sort of epic. SO! Please review!