The cobalt-colored creature ran forward, its lithe form easily slipping beneath its opponent's awkward mass. Without pausing, the small beast leapt into the air, spinning around so it faced the creature. Its palms clasped together, and then aimed at the massive serpentine creature. An azure sphere of energy crackled to life in the space just before them, and then flew forward with the force of a small explosion, a ripple of similarly colored energy pulsating out from the orb and illuminating the surrounding region. The sphere crashed into the monstrous snake's head, sending it flying and crashing into a nearby wall. It didn't move…
…And all hell broke loose.
"AND HE DOES IT AGAIN, FOLKS!!" roared the announcer. "RILEY OF IRON MOUNTAIN— ONCE AGAIN— DOMINATES ALL COMERS!!"
Riley ignored the colossal wall of noise that pressed in on him from all sides as his Pokémon, Lucario, returned to his side. Continuing to disregard the colossal wall of sound that pressed in on him, he pulled out a tiny di-colored ball, so tiny that it was no bigger than a grape. He pressed the button on the front, and instantly it grew to the size of a softball. He walked toward the threshold of the stadium he had passed through not ten minutes ago, and tossed the ball over his shoulder.
Lucario froze, and began to emanate a soft red glow. The light grew stronger and stronger until it was merely light assuming Lucario's form. It then dispersed into a single ray, which shot towards the ball, which opened its maw to receive it. As it clamped shut, the Pokéball hung in midair for a moment, and then returned to its owner. Without even turning around to look, Riley snatched it out of the air, minimizing it, and shoved it in his pocket.
He paused briefly to make sure that the Steelix that Lucario had just trounced made it back all right. There was a flash of red… and then the enormous doors slammed shut, and he was left staring at the intricate pattern of a complex battle that had been carved into them; an image he'd seen so many times that it had lost the magic of inspiration that t gave to all others who passed through. He turned away, and continued walking.
"That was an excellent battle, Riley," Cheryl congratulated the navy-clad trainer.
"No. It was another kid's dreams crushed. In no way is that 'excellent'," he sighed, pulling the brim of his stylized fedora over his eyes as he sat down in a huff, an instant contrast to the smooth, engaging Prince Charming that left the battle field.
"Get over it, man," Buck laughed, his flaming hair bound in a thick, gravity-defying ponytail. "This isn't the first time you've trashed a wimp like him."
Riley eyed the teenager. "Maybe so. But you should know better than to call him a wimp. If he made it this far, I can easily see him making it to the championship round. It was bad luck that made him face me so early on. I have no doubt that one of two things will happen. Either he will: 'A)' be spurred on to his ultimate potential by the promise of such amazing strength that any trainer can achieve, or 'B)' he'll instantly be thrown into the pits of self-despair, having no confidence in anything, let alone battles."
Buck winced, his mood put out by the uncomfortable truth. Marley decided to nip this problem in the bud, as she had seen the overall effects of its results unchecked on a prior occasion.
"Look. I propose we do something other than sit around and wait for trainers to come and challenge us. As gratifying as the whole thing is, we do have personal lives to attend to. With Lukas back at work for Professor Rowan, we have nothing to do, except sit here. And I do NOT plan on sitting on my backside for some upstart trainer to come running up, only to have his ego resized."
"So… what do you suggest?" Cheryl asked curiously, examining the long braid of her jade hair.
"Vacation!" squealed Mira ecstatically. "We could go travel around someplace we've never been! Like Hoenn, or Johto! Or even Kanto! I've never been there!"
"Child," Marley said softly, feigning insult, while hiding the faint smile that she was sporting at her friend's antics. Mira stuck out her tongue.
"Ooh… Kanto sounds like fun," Buck laughed. "It's a lot warmer than Sinnoh, for sure."
Cheryl nodded, smiling pleasantly. A warmer climate would be refreshing.
Riley faked indifference. In all honesty, he didn't really feel the fuzzy feelings for the country that his friends were all intent on visiting. Especially since the Incident, fifteen years ago.
"Fine," the elder man conceded, waving an arm nonchalantly. "But only if we stay mainstream."
"Mainstream?" Mira asked curiously. "What's mainstream?"
"I mean we stay in the big cities. Vermillion, Fuchsia, Cerulean."
"How about Viridian?" Mira asked, pointing to a small town in the almost extreme lower left of the map. Riley felt his stomach begin to slide the long way to the tips of his feet.
"What's in Viridian?"
"Oh, nothing. It's the small town to the south that I want to see."
Riley felt his stomach sink even lower.
"Which one?"
"Pallet Town! I want to meet Professor Oak!"
Instantly, Riley was thinking. His eyes narrowed –not malignantly– as his brain started calculating every possible outcome. It wasn't long before he realized that he had no chance of diverting their attention without divulging certain personal information. And this was most certainly information he did not want to deal with at the moment.
"Sure. Sounds like fun," he conceded with a shrug and a smile.
Needless to say, this consent was all it took to get the remainder of the group of five excited. Apparently, Cheryl had an old friend who lived their, and maybe they could visit? Riley, who was too tired to argue, nodded simply and left it at that.
And so that's how the stationmaster of the Pokétrans International Railway came across the most mismatched group of colors shades and hues ever. As a teenaged boy whose attire screamed 'RED' argued with a girl whose outfit just as loudly argued 'BLACK', a girl wrapped in 'PINK' and 'YELLOW' was skipping around, a woman in 'GREEN' was attempting to keep the peace, and a man –screaming 'BLUE'-was attempting tohaggle with the ticket dispenser. Sadly, machines do not haggle.
"Stupid Automatic Ticket Dispenser," grumbled Riley, as the group filed into their compartment. How dare that inferior machine not give him a discount?!
Once inside, he set his own suitcase on the floor before helping Cheryl, Marley, and Mira with theirs. Then he pushed his own into the free space left over.
"Sorry, kid," he chuckled at Buck. "You're on your own."
"Favoritist," came to the scathing reply.
"No, a gentleman," Riley answered with a smile. He sat down in the corner of the room, and pulled his fedora down over his eyes, angling it so that while it looked like he was asleep, he indeed had a good view of the outside window. He would do this whenever he needed privacy and time to think. And he needed a lot of both.
When he left Kanto, fifteen years ago (or was it sixteen?), he'd been on the quest for power. Well, he found it, and was forced to live with the result. He'd left behind his freaking wife to get this power. Not once did he realize, during his journey, the great treasure he'd left. Thank God he met Lukas. Watching that kid, exploring the inside of Iron Mountain, and talking to him had made something reawaken. Not in an instantaneous manner, but after a long period. He was such an idiot…
"I'm gonna go make a phone call," he announced as he stood up and strode through the room. Once in the hallway, he headed for the Club Car and asked to borrow the Wireless. Sitting down in front of the machine, he dialed –very haltingly- the number of his old home. There was a pause, and then the Wireless displayed an image of a twirling globe. It zoomed in on the location of the destination, a clever simulation based off of real-time feed. However, Riley was not in the mood to enjoy the display. He did not like using telephones…
RINGRINGRING!! RINGRINGRING!! PHONE CALL! PHONE CALL!
…And that was why. He adjusted his fedora, his form of fidgeting in the same manner that all men who are about to undertake an unpleasant duty do.
RINGRINGRING!! RINGRINGRING!! PHONE CALL! PHONE CALL!
Please pick up! Please…
RINGRINGRING!! RINGRINGRING!! PHONE CALL! PHONE CALL!
PICK UP THE PHONE, DAMNIT!!
The Voice-Only Key clicked on.
"Ketchum residence, Delia speaking."
Oh, boy… It was Do or Die now. And he didn't feel all that much like dieing.
"Hey," the man in blue started haltingly. "Um… it's me."
There was a long, uncomfortably pregnant pause. And then…
"…Riley?" She recognized his voice. Well, damn.
"Yeah, it's m…"
The Video Mode switched on before he could finish his sentence. In a blaze of pixels, he was staring at a woman he hadn't thought about in thirteen years. And she was every bit as gorgeous as he remembered. Time had done nothing to harm her… and then he felt the build up of wannabe-drool that was gathering in the corner of his mouth and swallowed with a self-conscious chuckle.
"Uh… hey," he attempted to restart a conversation. Oh, he was no good at this, and perhaps he'd just made things worse. After all, it had been fifteen years since… well, maybe she had found someone better.
"Hello, Riley," Delia nodded. The man winced, why didn't she just come out and start screaming at him? That would at least give him an estimate of where he stood (he figured he was already on the edge of Tartarus, maybe 80 over). He sighed in exasperation and fidgeted nervously. How on EARTH could that woman make him feel like this?! She'd made him do this when they were kids, and then teens, and she could still make him do it now!
And then he heard her giggle.
"I'd forgotten you used to do that!" she remembered with a smile. He grimaced embarrassedly, muttering a small "Yeah…"
"…How've you been?" she asked after another small pause.
"Fine, I suppose. I made the big time," he said with a small tremor in his voice.
"Well, that's… that's good!" the brown-haired woman congratulated him. He knew that she didn't think that one bit. And truthfully, neither did he.
"No, Delia. Its not."
"But that's… you always wanted to be a master, right?"
"Yes, but… so does every other kid who grows up in a backwater like Pallet." Delia didn't respond with words. Her smile did so amply.
"Look… I made a big mistake. And –typical me- took fifteen years to realize it. I'm sorry that I…"
"Oh, put a sock in it, you thespian wannabe." Riley stared at her.
"Look, I'm putting my heart and soul into this, and you're telling me to…"
"That's because I want you to know that I'm okay with it."
Riley paused, the high-tech computer that was his brain devolving to a blender mixing concrete. "Say WHAT?!"
"I know why you did it, and I was behind you all the way. Even though I didn't quite make it seem that way," she revealed.
"Yeah, well, its my problem. I guess after I made it… that I just missed you too much. Oh, shoot! Sorry!" he grimaced. "There's nobody there with you, is there? I hope I didn't intrude! Or insult," he added on.
Delia sniggered cutely at his expression. "No, there's no competition that you have to worry about, Riley," she laughed. Riley sighed in relief, and then went, "Hey! Wait a sec'!" And thus upturned the apple cart. Delia burst into laughter at his expression.
A voice in the background could be heard, as a man in a white lab coat appeared. "Delia, who are you talking to?"
Similarly, Riley felt a small twinge as a familiar presence entered his personal sphere. "Hey, Big Guy," Buck said with a grin. "Just making sure that you're okay."
"I'm fine, Buck. In fact," Riley smiled softly at Delia, who smiled back secretively. "In fact, I've never felt better."
"Hello, there!" came the voice of the elder man who had joined Delia at the computer screen. "I'm…"
"Professor Oak!" Buck shouted, a look of dawning recognition painted on his face. Riley sighed, and smacked the redhead.
"Keep it down, Buck! They can hear you just fine," he hissed. Buck scratched the back of his head, smiling embarrassedly.
"Sorry about him." Riley jabbed his thumb over at him.
Professor Oak was staring intently at the man in blue. "You know, Delia, I can't help but recognize your friend, here, even though I've never seen his face. Its gnawing at the back of my head, and…"
A loud voice rent the air. "MOM!! I'M HOME!"
"I'm on the phone!" Delia called back. "SORRY!!"
"That's it! He looks just like Ash!" Professor Oak realized.
Riley raised an eyebrow, as he felt a cold sweat develop on the nape of his neck.
"Uh, Delia…"
"Yes?"
"Two things. '1)' Who's Ash? And '2)'… did whoever that was just call you 'MOM?!'"
Delia blushed a little. "Well, after you left…"
Riley gaped, open-mouthed. "But… but you said… said…!"
"Look, I know what I said. And I lied, alright? You wanted to go on your 'big journey', and I knew you wouldn't be happy until you did, so I…"
Professor Oak stared at her. "You mean he is…?!"
"I let you leave, okay!? I let you go on your big, fancy journey!" There were small tears in her eyes.
"Hey, hey… Delia… Deli," he cooed, and using her old nickname got her attention.
"Looks like you really were behind me," he said, smiling sadly. "Hey, guys? Can we have some private time?"
Buck and the Professor were gone.
"Well, thank you. Anyway, Delia… I won't ask why, but… You knew what you were doing, it seems…"
"Thanks," she replied awkwardly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She watched his face go pensive for a moment.
"Whatcha thinkin' about?" she asked cutely.
"Nothing: I'm rebooting," he chuckled. Delia laughed at the old inside joke. Another reference to Riley's computer-brain.
As he "rebooted", he used the time to process all this new information.
Delia was not mad at him (at least, not very). She was not in love with anyone else, even though it might have been easier on them both if she did. And he had a son.
A son… A SON?!
"Wait a second… I'm a father?!" he wondered aloud, slightly hysterical. "Fifteen years of not knowing that I'm a freaking FATHER?!!"
Delia nodded happily. "Reboot complete, then?"
Riley, didn't know whether to reassure her of his full mental restart, or to continue wondering about the son he'd never known. He compromised by going "Uguh…" and then fainting.
"Riley? Riley, dear!"
Clzh: Well, its our first actual Pokémon story in a few years.
X: We'll take care of the festering boil that some people call by its title of Water and Earth.
Goddra2: Considering you wrote it in maybe 2 hours, I'd say you'd best get a move on.
X: Oh, shut up.
Clzh: Okay, there are some notes about this story that should clear any mild fans' questions up.
-Riley, Cheryl, Buck, Marley, and Mira are all characters from the Diamond and Pearl series. They're your double battle partners.
-Riley is connected to Sir Aaron of the 8th Movie, the one with Lucario. They look exactly the same, and they wear essentially the same outfit, given the noticeable changes between Sir Aaron's and Riley's time and setting. Their primary partners (Lucario) are also the same.
-Riley's personality, in our opinion, is a fusion of Sir Aaron's and Sven's (from the Black Cat manga/anime) respective personalities.
-This story develops the link between Sir Aaron and Ash that was mentioned multiple times in the 8th movie.
-We do not own the Pokémon franchise, or anything mildly related to it. If we did, Ash and misty would've gotten a special in which they got married, and that would be that!
(X: Yeah!!)