A League Of Their Own
An all-new style; Including a new world, new battles, and even new clothes.
A/N: OK ladies and gents! This is my first fic based in the Hoenn region, and I'm going to attempt to make it as original as possible…Please don't kill me if it suddenly starts to die down. Hopefully…I shall make this good. Well…Onward!
Sun, sun, sun and Eevy. Just what one Lance Ryujin wanted on a beautiful late summer day. That and maybe a glass of iced tea, but just the same…He laid contentedly on the porch swing, slowly swaying front to back. Well, he had his sun and tea, but no Eevy. She seemed to have aptly disappeared on him. He frowned and closed his eyes, listening to the chirping Swablu in the distance. There was a sudden closer chirp from above him and he looked up, pleasantly surprised by the sight.
"Hello," he waved his fingers, "Finally come out of hiding?"
"I wasn't hiding," Eevy contradicted, "I was working."
"All this time? Tisk-tisk, Evangelina," he scolded, shaking his finger at her, "Too much work and no play makes Eevy bitchy and Lance lonely."
"Humph…" she turned away and crossed her arms, "It makes me productive and you nothing but hormonal."
"I resent that remark," he puffed.
"No, you resemble it."
"Commere, you," he dragged her over the back of the swing and sat her firmly down in his lap, "What, might I ask, were you working on all this time?"
She swatted at him as he buried his face in her hair and kissed her shoulder, "New information on Hoenn. And that's…Part of why I'm here," she pushed him away, suddenly nervous.
"Oh? What about Hoenn?" he questioned, tugging her back.
"Uh…" she shoved him back and got quickly to her feet, brushing her shirt down and clearing her throat, "K…Kratos wants…Me to…Go to Hoenn," she choked out.
"Really? Sounds like a plan," he shrugged, "So…When are we leaving?"
"Um…We aren't," she sweatdropped, turning away and poking her index fingers together.
"Huh?" he went totally blank in the face, tilting his head, "What do you mean?"
"Y…You're not going," she moved quickly away, making her index fingers into an X, "Please don't blow up!"
"Y…You mean to tell me, Kratos is shipping you out to Hoenn, where none of us have ever been before, alone? Without even an Elite member to watch out for you?" he blinked twice, "Is he insane?!"
"Well…I'm not exactly going alone either…" she murmured, eyes darting side to side.
He hopped off the swing, placing his hands firmly on his hips, "Well, if I'm not going, who is?"
She inched farther and farther away, swallowing hard, "Uh…Three others, actually…Pretty well-known too. And powerful, yes. Very powerful…And Kratos gave me a choice and I wanted you here to watch the League while I'm away…"
"Evangelina Chenoweth Hikoboshi…" he sighed, taking her shoulders, "Who is going with you?"
She cringed at the use of her full name and blurted out the names of Lance's next three victims, "Gary, Richie and Ash!"
She covered her mouth with both hands as his eyes got wider…And wider…And wider… "WHAT?!"
*^~^**^~^*
Lance wobbled stiffly through the front door, past Medira, Luri and Jason, and tipsily entered the conference room to holler at Kratos. Eevy stepped in after him, attempting to look as innocent as possible. Didn't quite work, however, and her eyes immediately focused up to the top of the stairwell. Will leaned one arm on the banister and placed his free hand on his Xatu's head. He shook his head slowly and Eevy shrugged with a stupid smile. In the conference room…
"You can't let her go with them," Lance shook his head, "They're not strong enough to protect her."
"They're more than capable, Ryujin," Kratos shook his head, "As long as she believes them to be, my instincts will follow."
"Well then I'm sorry to contradict both you and her, sir, but those…Boys are no more fit to be her companions than Peter Rubeus was to be Champion."
Kratos' left eyebrow went up, "Do you honestly, wholeheartedly, believe that?" he questioned, crossing his arms, "Richard Captura owns as many badges as you do. Garick Oak has some of the most well-bred Pokemon known. Ashura Ketchum is-"
"Please," Lance raised his hand, "You don't need to continue. I understand they're all high-ranking and that they're all skilled trainers, but we Elite are much more suited for this kind of assignment."
"Assignment?" Kratos leaned back, "Is that all Evangelina is to you? An assignment?"
Lance blinked, turning a furious shade of red, "Of course not, but-"
"No? It certainly seems that way, the way you're talking," he crossed his arms, "Evangelina chose Captura, Oak and Ketchum for herself; I had nothing to do with her selection. She wants you, Logos, Sedna, Peruwa and Kurayami here to mind the League whilst she's away."
"What about you?" he questioned haughtily, "You could watch the League just as well as any of us."
"Maybe, but she specifically requested that you take over for her. Basically, you'll all temporarily be bumped up a notch in the standings and you'll act with me as you used to."
Lance looked off to the side, "I really don't think this is such a good idea," he shook his head, "We've heard about Team Aqua and Team Magma and all the problems that place is facing…"
"Yes, we have, but Evangelina is part of the solution," Kratos leaned forward and put his hands together, "She is being sent over there not only as a witness to the League's prowess, but also as an official officer. She and her companions will be scanning the area for faults, recording what they see, and mastering the new area as for us to place it in the library and for us to get the guidebooks made."
"Basically what you're saying is they're a search party, going out there to fish around for anything and everything they can feast their eyes, ears and hands on."
Kratos glared lowly, "In ways, yes. But they'll also be researching the new Pokemon and new skills. Hoenn is very different from Kanto, Johto, the Orange Archipelago and Gertan Rin."
"I know that, sir, but I-"
"No, no I don't think you do," he put in quickly, "If you did, you'd understand just why she's going. There is nothing more to discuss," he waved his hand toward the door, "If you want to talk more about it, discuss it with Mistress Hikoboshi."
"Yes, sir," Lance grunted and stomped toward the door.
"Oh, and Ryujin…" Kratos called, causing Lance to stop in mid-reach for the doorknob, "I didn't ask her to go…She volunteered."
*^~^**^~^*
Eevy sat quietly in her chair, running a brush through her hair and contemplating how to ask Ash, Richie and Gary if they'd like to go to Hoenn as she was planning to. She also had to figure out how to keep Lance from killing the three of them. That was easier said than done. She paused and turned slowly around as the door opened and closed. She tilted an eyebrow as Lance glared partially at her.
"You lied to me…" he murmured, shaking his head.
"He told you…" she frowned, also shaking her head.
"Again…"
"He wasn't supposed to tell you…"
"Why do you insist on lying to me…?"
"I don't."
"Then why can't you ever tell me the truth?" he snapped slightly, "First about Taylor, then about just about all of your past, and I don't know how many lies in between."
"If this is about Lee-"
"It's not just about Lee," he pushed in, "I just want you to be honest with me."
"I know you do…" she crossed her arms tightly and sat back down, "And I'm sorry I've lied to you so much, but I really do care about you."
"Are you sure?" he questioned, one eye narrowing, "Because I'm beginning to wonder just what you're really like. Like if you've lied to me about that too."
"You are the one who listened to Raikou and wound up almost totally ruining us," she spat.
"You are the one who didn't tell me you almost carried Andiron's kid."
"You are the one who conveniently never brought up your relationships with Karkota and Hydra."
"You are the one who "neglected to mention" the most important part of your past."
"I'm not going to fight with you," she turned away and looked back in the mirror of her dresser.
"Well neither am I," he walked across the room to his own dresser and sat down, facing away.
"Geez…Are you sure you two aren't married?" Will snickered, his voice flowing through Eevy's mind.
"Shut it, you," Eevy hissed for all she was worth, "You are not of any help."
"Ah, you'll survive," she watched his self-projection shrug, "Everybody has some relationship problems. Yours are minimal."
"Oh? And just what would the larger ones be?" she grumbled, futzing with a comb.
"Oh, I dunno…Maybe lechery, abuse, divorce…I could keep going if you'd like."
She grunted and mentally gave him a punch in the gut, which only caused him to grin wider. She cleaned her nails for a moment and watched what she now knew was a Taillow flap past the window, calling out repeatedly. It was a pretty cute Pokemon, she'd decided, and she was sure to see quite a few more when she arrived in Hoenn. She just wished she could make Lance understand why she chose for him to stay behind before she had to leave. She jingled her Crystal Bell slightly and glanced over her shoulder at him, only to watch him turn an angry red and turn away. She herself looked away, then standing and wandering toward the door to her closet, beside his dresser.
"Hey…What are you doing?" he questioned, suddenly intent on watching her.
"Packing," she answered simply, digging around and dragging out a few pieces of clothing and her old, worn-out backpack.
"Oh…" he shrugged and went on about his previous activity of polishing his Elite Fourth trophy.
The room remained pretty much silent for the next few minutes. Eevy folded her clothes and Lance continued shining. It was when Eevy made it a point to take one of their most recent photos and place it in her bag that Lance spoke up.
"I'm sorry I-"
"Yeah, me too…"
"I just-I-"
"I know…"
"Sorry I said-"
"So am I…"
"I understand why-"
"I'm glad…"
"Why won't you let me-?"
"Because I know what you'll say…"
They smiled weakly and he turned the chair around, patting his knees. She zipped up her pack and sat down in his lap, her feet suspended a few inches from the floor on the right side of the chair. He wrapped his arms around her and she leaned on him, soothed all the more by the steady rise and fall of his chest. He patted her back carefully, resting his chin on her head.
"How long?"
"However long it takes."
"Would you…Try to make it quick for me?"
"For us, yes."
"I'll miss you, Evangelina. But you'll be back."
"I'll miss you too, Lance. And I will be back."
*^~^**^~^*
"Ring-ring-ring! Ring-ring-ring! Phone call! Phone call! Ring-ring-ring! Ring-ring-ring! Phone call! Phone call! Ring-ring-ring! Ring-ring-ring!"
Someone…Please make it stop…There we go! A young woman balanced the cordless phone under her left ear and on her shoulder while mixing up a baby bottle full of special milk for her pride and joy; a baby Eevee. OK, so it wasn't just hers. This little infant Eevee had come from one of the very few times she allowed her Pokemon to breed with someone else's. She was a top Pokemon Breeder and preferred to do things her own way, but felt this would be a good time not to go solo for a change, as it seemed little Vova really liked that other Eevee. Obviously she had, as it had resulted in Vova's first offspring. With one blue and one green eye, Velva the newborn was now a source of constant energy and attentiveness. Now if only she'd stop gnawing the furniture…
"Hello? Yes, this is Chenille," Chenille Farrago nearly tripped over Govo as he shot past her foot, "Oh, Eevy. Hello," she ran her hand through her hair, "It's none of your business why I'm here, and yes, he's here too. I'll go get him."
"Tell him it's kind of important, OK?" Eevy picked at her nails, still chatting with Chenille as she worked her way around Pokemon to the backdoor, "So how's Velva?"
"As spunky as ever. Vova's a very good mother. Is Vovo impressed that he's a great grandfather?"
"To a degree."
"I figured as much. Hang on a sec," she leaned out the back door, "Gary! Eevy's on the phone!" she waved the phone out the door.
"Tell her I'll be right there!" he tugged on the frisbee his Eevee was pulling on, then dropped it, "Fine, be that way. I have to take a phone call," he waved his hand at his Pokemon as he crouched on the ground, furiously shaking the toy side to side.
Gary hopped up the back steps, smiled briefly at Chenille, then took the phone, almost stepping on Velva, "Watch it!" Chenille shrieked, scooping the baby Eevee up, "Be more careful, big foot!"
Gary glared at her, then quickly putting the phone to his ear, "Hello, Eevy. What can I do for you?"
"Well, I have a question for you. And I'll warn you now that it'll involve you leaving Chenille to come with me for a while," she blinked twice, then realized the way she said that was definitely not the best.
"Uh…I don't think Chenille would really approve of that…"
"I knew your tiny male mind would see that wrong," she rolled her eyes, "Well, Kratos is actually shipping me off-"
"Not to America, I should hope?"
She grunted lowly, "No, not to America. This one's to Hoenn."
"Hoenn? Isn't that the place with all the new Pokemon? The one you were investigating when we went to the US, now that I think."
"Yes, that's the one," she replied, "Anyway, Kratos wants me to head out there and check it out. He wants me to get a feel for the place and he's given me the opportunity to take three companions with me."
"Oh? Then I would presume the reason you called is to ask me to go," he grinned wide at the receiver.
Eevy smirked brightly, "Very good. That's one of the reasons I picked you; you're very intuitive and very smart."
"Thank you, thank you, kind miss."
She snickered quietly, away from the phone and away from Lance, who was hovering by her side, "And you teeter on the verge of suave when you try."
"Thank you again. And thank you for inviting me. I'd very much like to go."
"It's my pleasure. I'll meet you at your place there in Viridian early this Saturday morning. I will warn you though, Garick…" she paused and let that nasty shade sweep over her features, "Ashura will most likely be joining us."
Gary snickered, then laughed, then began a thunderous chuckle that startled poor Velva so as she ran behind Chenille's chair, "Oh perfect!" he clapped.
*^~^**^~^*
"Ring-ring-ring! Ring-ring-ring! Phone call! Phone call! Ring-ring-ring! Ring-ring-ring! Phone call! Phone call! Ring-ring-ring! Ring-ring-ring! Phone call…"
Oh no…Not again…A small yellow Pokemon with a kinked tail scuttled under his Trainer's pillow, burying his super-sensitive ears in the fluffy abyss. His Trainer sat groggily up, heard the phone stop ringing, and flopped back, the hat on the bedpost falling to the floor. The Trainer on the bed on the other side of the room sleepily scratched his back, yawning wide and patting his own yellow Pokemon before drifting off again. The Breeder sleeping on the bunk above the Trainer first mentioned was sprawled flat out, muttering frivolities about seemingly random girls. Snoring soon followed, but a shout also joined in the chorus of noise.
"Ash! Telephone!" came a chirpy voice from down the stairs and through the closed door, "Ash! Telephone!" a slight bark followed.
There was a grunt, a polite excuse to set the phone down, and a series of thuds. Each became steadily louder, the source approaching rapidly. The door suddenly burst open, slamming on the wall, and an angered mother kept her left hand on the door and her right on her hip, an ever-apparent scowl pasted on her face and focused on her one and only son, now sitting dead-straight up in his bed, as were his companions.
"Ashura Satoshi Ketchum!" Delia snapped, quite an unusual occurrence for her, "You have a phone call, and I expect you to get out of bed and get it right this instant!"
"What time is it?" Ash groaned, partially able to ignore the use of his full name due to "early-morning" deliria.
"It happens to be almost eleven o'clock. Get up now," she stormed back down the staircase and, after a few minutes as Ash, Brock and Richie dressed, again hollered, "Ashura! If I have to walk away from this oven one more time!"
"Coming, mom!" Ash brushed his hat off and popped it on his head, "Sorry about that, guys. My mom's real strict about food preparation."
"So we've seen…" Richie blinked twice, "Come on, Sparky. Rise and shine," he placed his Pikachu on his head after donning his own cap.
"Pika-chu!" Sparky called as Pikachu hopped up on Ash's head, "Pikachu!"
"Pika-pika! Pikapi!" Pikachu grinned.
Brock grabbed his vest and ran out the door after them as they filed slowly down the stairs. Richie continued past Ash, heading down the steps to the basement, where he was sure to find Kayla. She'd taken what seemed to be a permanent liking to the downstairs games, as well as to Richie himself. She'd managed some time before to leave her dreams of running Rose Town Gym to pursue Pallet Town for him. Brock wandered off to the kitchen to check if there was any way to calm the raging Delia without getting into a fight with Mimie, Delia's Mr. Mime. Ash stopped at the phone and slowly picked it up.
"This is Ash. Sorry I didn't come right away," he scratched the back of his head, "Kinda had some technical difficulties."
Misty, who was sitting on the couch eating a muffin and watching TV, rolled her eyes and continued laughing at the crazy cartoon. She burst out laughing and pointed out to her Togepi how that exact thing had once happened to Ash. He snorted at her from behind, only causing her to laugh harder.
"Technical difficulties, huh?" the caller asked, attracting his attention again, "Like what? Get your leg wrapped up in your comforter?"
He scowled slightly, eyes narrowing, "Hello, Evangelina."
Eevy snickered nastily, half because of the way he said that, half because he knew her just by her voice and sense of humor, "How are you, Ashy-boy?"
"I'd be much better if you'd not call me that."
"Oh, it's only a joke," she shook her head, "Could you have Richie pick up on the other phone? I need to talk to him too."
"Uh, sure…" Ash pulled open the basement door, "Hey, Richie! Eevy's on the phone! Can you pick up the other line down there?"
"Um…Yeah. Just a sec…" Richie desperately squirmed away from Kayla and tripped across the room, grabbing the phone and squeaking slightly because straightening his voice out, "Kayla…Ahem…Says hello, Eevy."
"Hmm…I'm sure she does," Eevy sniggered, "Anyway, I've got a question for you two."
"Shoot," they sounded together.
"Kratos is kinda sending me on a little trip-"
"Not to America, right?" Ash asked quickly, "I want nothing to do with that ever again."
"No, not to America, you baka…" she would have slapped him, had she been able to, "But it does apply, sort of, to some of the League work I was doing over there."
"Oh, just what I wanted to hear…" he groaned.
"Actually…" Eevy swallowed and pondered if just telling them really was the right approach, as she'd decided to do; Gary was a different matter, as she felt she could just throw things at him better than she could these two, "Th-This has to do with Hoenn…"
"Hoenn?" Richie was first to question, "Isn't that the place southeast of Gertan Rin, southwest of Johto and Kanto, and northeast of the Orange Archipelago?"
"You know your geography," Eevy noted, "Yes, that's the place."
"From what I understand, it's a huge place," Ash put in.
"Yes, it's a very large plot of land," Eevy agreed, "And offers a wide variety of new Pokemon."
"Awesome…So what'd you want to know?" Ash asked.
"Well…Like I said; Kratos is kinda shipping me off again…And this time he's shipping me and three companions out to Hoenn. He wants us to check it out; get a feel of the place; study it."
"You lucky dog," Richie sighed, "What an amazing opportunity."
"And what does this have to do with the two of us?" Ash again inquired.
"Like I said again; Kratos is allowing me three traveling buddies…" she started.
"Uh huh…" they both murmured, still oblivious to what she was saying.
"And I decided to pick three of my closest friends, but not Morty, Eusine or Lance, strangely enough…"
"Uh huh…"
"So…"
"Uh huh…"
"Well?"
"Well what?"
She facefaulted right out of her chair and grumbled, "I'm beginning to regret making you two of my primary choices…"
"Y-You're asking us to go?" Richie's eyes widened significantly, "Seriously?!"
"You want us to go to Hoenn with you?!" Ash blurted, alerting Misty, Brock and Delia, who poked their heads closer.
"Oh my! It clicked…" she rolled her eyes.
"I'd love to go, Eevy!" Richie nodded, quick to reply and even quicker to cheer, "Thank you! And thanks for considering me as one of your first choices. It really means a lot."
"Yeah! You better believe I want to go!" Ash smiled crazily at the phone, "And Richie's right. It means more than you could imagine."
"OK, don't get fluffy. Lance is standing next to me," she grinned, "So I'll see you this Saturday at your place, OK? It's gonna be early, so you'd best not have anymore technical difficulties."
"Aheh…Yeah…" Ash sweatdropped, "Before you go, just out of curiosity, who's our partner going to be?"
"Uh…" Eevy choked, swallowing hard, "You…Don't really want to know that!" she laughed nervously.
"Yes we do," Richie contradicted, "Come on, Eevy. Who is it?"
"G…Uh…Gary Oak…?" she murmured quietly in a barely audible whisper.
Richie held the phone a good three feet away from his ear, as he knew what was coming, and still heard Ash scream as plain as day, "WHAT?!"
*^~^*Chapter 1: End…*^~^*
A/N: La-de-dah…An entire chapter and they haven't even left yet. Well…At least it was a teensy bit interesting. I have some major touch-ups to do in the next chapter concerning some outfits, so I'm off to work some more. Joy.
*^~^*Pro_V*^~^*
-=O~The Pokemon~O=-
Next Up: TAA Season 5 ~ A League Of Their Own *Episode 2* ~ Setting Off
TAA Pokemon Of The Month: October 2003: Misdreavus
Saying this just for giggles, since it's in my FF.net Bio and on my website: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON. So there.