Hello, readers. I have mild writer's block right now, so here I am doing something com-PLETE-ly random. Normally I don't write stuff like this, either. I'm just experimenting at this point.

Universe: HGSS

Notes: I tried to make Silver's personality a little friendly, one that had softened up—as in, at the end of the game, he thought differently than before and such. Maybe I succeeded, maybe I didn't. Ah well.

I own nothing except the plot.

"Come on, Silver! Just this once?"

Silver glared back at the girl as she jumped up and down on the stone in front of the bench where he sat. Her pigtails, to his faint amusement, bobbed along with the motion.

He shook his head. "No."

She looked crestfallen, staring at him with puppy-dog eyes. Silver had to work hard to resist. He had always been a little partial to his rival. She was the only one who was truly better than him, after all.

Though when he'd first met her, he hadn't been too impressed. She had looked ridiculous—she had a marshmallow hat on her head, for Arceus' sake. And she still did look ridiculous. Not to mention she was weak. But she had quickly proved that, despite her clownish appearance, she was a force to be reckoned with. Each time he'd risen up to challenge her, she'd beaten him back down again.

There were only so many blows pride can take, and Silver's ego was feeling a little shaky. He'd tried the Elite Four again and had been beaten by Koga. It was really pissing him off, since he'd beat him last time, so at the moment Silver was not in the mood to get creamed again.

Which was the reason why he was pointedly refusing Lyra's request for a battle. He was becoming convinced at this point that Lyra was using him to train her Pokemon to higher levels. Well, excuse him for saying so, but you can train Pokemon by fighting the Elite Four. But obviously Lyra preferred to battle him, because she always won.

"Please?" she pleaded, clasping her hands together. She looked ready to get on her knees and actually beg him. Which, Silver reflected, wouldn't be completely strange. It was Lyra, after all.

He remained steadfast. "No."

"Pretty please? With sprinkles and whipped cream and a cherry on top?"

Oh, Arceus. More with the imaginary food. Silver had never seen the point in that. "Please" wasn't exactly the word he'd put food on, seeing as it was one he rarely used. Besides which, it was a freaking word. You don't put food on freaking words. "For the last time: NO."

She pouted, shoving her pale, delicate hands in her overalls' pockets. She tapped her foot and seemed to find something interesting on the ground. Or, at least, her eyes flitted from his face to the stone below. The National Park was a very beautiful place, Silver had to admit (grudgingly, yes, but he did admit it), so why was she looking at the ground? The least she could've done was look at a tree.

Then her face lit up, and Silver suppressed a groan. She had gotten an idea, and knowing Lyra, it was bound to involve him doing something he didn't like. He didn't like a lot of things, and most them had something to do with her. Unfortunately for him, she knew most of the list. Which wasn't exactly an incident Silver was most proud of.

It had been one thing to almost have a heart attack when she jumped him in an alley in Goldenrod on her Meganium, yelling his name at the top of her lungs. It was another to let it slip that he was adding the incident to the list of things he didn't like. Lyra, being Lyra, instantly demanded that he tell her his rather lengthy list. He didn't, of course, and since she wasn't completely an idiot, she figured out most of the contents on her own. And now she used it to her advantage.

Silver watched through his curtain of scarlet hair as she pulled out her phone and dialed a number. She hadn't managed to get his phone number yet, thank Arceus. But that was only because he watched his phone like a hawk. It never left his pocket. Though in retrospect, he didn't even know why he had a phone. He never used it, except when a Gym Leader wanted to challenge him or something, which had only happened five times exactly.

"Hello?" His silver eyes narrowed when a smile brightened her face. Yes, something he didn't like was going to happen. He was sure now. "Ethan! It's great that I could contact you. Listen, I have a favor to ask."

Damn. She was getting Ethan involved? Time to make himself scarce. Silver slowly eased up from the bench and tiptoed away from the girl as she chattered on to her childhood friend. He made it out of her sight in just a few minutes, and he was sighing in relief when someone grabbed the collar of his jacket from the back. He automatically aimed a kick behind him, but the person nimbly dodged. That meant it could only be one of two people, seeing as no one else dared grab him at all, and Silver was willing to guess which was it was.

"Where are you going? She's over there, stupid."

Silver groaned. That was Ethan, for sure. Silver allowed himself to be dragged back, a sullen expression on his face. He heard Lyra exclaim, "Thanks, Ethan! I was so busy talking to you that I forgot to keep an eye on him."

"No problem." Ethan dropped Silver back on the bench, and Silver leaned back with a long, resigned sigh. "See, he's given up. Okay, so why'd you need me?"

"Oh, that's right! I was just rambling about nothing on the phone again, wasn't I? Well, now Silver can hear it too." Silver buried his face in his hands with a muttered curse as Lyra's peppy voice continued, "He won't battle me, so I need you to give him a reason to."

"We could've done that over the phone," Ethan said plaintively. Silver felt an inkling of exasperation. At least someone could see sense.

Lyra just shrugged. "I prefer to talk in person. Besides, you were so close by."

"True enough," Ethan admitted. He had had to be pretty close, if he'd caught Silver so quickly. After all, Ethan—as far as Silver knew—didn't have a flying Pokemon. All he had was that stupid Marill. Silver absently wondered where it was; it followed the boy everywhere he went.

"So," Lyra said, bringing Silver's thoughts back to the conversation. She crossed her arms and asked, "Do you have a solution to my dilemma?"

"It's not even his problem, and you're asking him for help?" Silver snapped at the brunette. He was now seriously pissed. "You really are an idiot, aren't you?"

"Shut up! I'm not an idiot!"

"Oh, really? What about that time in Violet City last week? You fell into the water, as I recall."

"It was for a good cause! I was helping a little girl get her toy back!"

"No, I think it's just because you dropped your food."

"Sh-shut up!" Lyra whirled on Ethan. "You! Do you have any ideas yet?"

Ethan had his face scrunched up, trying not to burst out laughing. In the end, he managed to get out, "Make a bet with him or something."

Immediately Lyra forgot the argument. She stood up straight, eyes shining as she clapped her hands together. "Yes! That's it! Silver would never refuse a bet if there's something in it for him. Isn't that so?"

"Shut up, idiot." Unfortunately, she was right. She usually was, despite her ditzy behavior.

"Well, if that's all, excuse me while I have a laugh attack." Lyra and Silver both glared after Ethan as he ran off, bellowing with laughter. Passerby gave him odd looks, but it was obvious that he didn't care in the least.

"Why's he laughing?" Lyra asked moments later, frowning, still staring after the boy. Silver facepalmed, but she shot him a questioning look. She was serious. She wanted an answer, and she wasn't going to budge until Silver gave her one. So with an exasperated glare, he began to think of answers. They had to be answers in which she would shut up. A lot of times, if given an answer that she didn't like, she'd argue. And Silver was not in the mood to argue with the her.

He blinked, his mind narrowing down the possible choices. The most obvious: He's just like that. The other one was that came up was: because we bicker like an old couple. Silver dismissed the thought immediately, embarrassed. There was no way in hell that Silver would ever say something like that. It would be completely out of character, and plus it wasn't true. At all.

"He's Ethan," Silver said simply a few moments later. It was a decent answer.

"I guess..." Lyra watched the retreating figure for a few more seconds, then expertly spun on her heel, facing him. "So! Silver, I have a bet to propose!"

Silver raised one perfectly arched eyebrow. "I couldn't have guessed."

"Shut up," Lyra said cheerfully, without missing a beat. "Anyway, here's the thing: we have a battle."

"I gathered."

"Shut up. If you win, I'll leave you alone until you get bored."

Silver couldn't argue with that; it was a good bargain. Then he realized the second part of her sentence. "Wait… Who says I'd get bored?"

Lyra shot him a pitying glance. "Oh, Silver. Admit it. Your life would be so monotonous without me."

Silver grunted, but didn't deny it. Lyra didn't press.

"Okay, so if I win, you leave me alone." Peace and quiet. When was the last time he'd gotten that? "And if you win?"

"I was kind of hoping you wouldn't ask." Is it all that bad?

"… What is it?"

Lyra hesitated, but then told him, "If I win, I get to follow you around for a week."

Silver wasn't fazed. "You already do that, idiot."

"Shut up. And by follow, I mean, like, go where you go. Like right behind you."

"Stalker!" Silver said, recoiling. People looked over at the word, but hastily cast their glances elsewhere when he glared at them.

"Shut up! You haven't even accepted the bet!" She met his eyes, brown versus silver. "Well?"

Silver weighed his options. He was fairly certain he'd lose. Which would be very, very annoying. But it wasn't anything he couldn't stand, since she already did it enough. Besides, once she stopped stalking him, it would seem like she was really quiet. Silver really wanted quiet. Which brought up another thing. If he did, by some miracle, win, then he'd get peace until… well, until he got bored. And he wouldn't. Not for a long time.

He blinked. Did I just admit to myself that I would get bored without her?

...Crap. He was getting soft.

But if he didn't accept, the offers would become more and more strange. Wildly so. And he'd have to battle her eventually. So the pros outweigh the cons, Silver reflected. Probably.

It was too late to back out now, though. And if he did win, it would all be worth it.

"… Fine."

… And that was why, a few hours later, Silver found Lyra close behind as they walked eastward on Route 36. Arceus, the girl never shut up. Silver almost wanted to find and then throw himself off a cliff as she started to – once again – talk about the sky. He had had enough of the stupid blue sky with the fluffy clouds that looked like Psyducks. Hell, he had had enough of the stupid idiot girl with the marshmallow hat. Maybe he should throw her off the cliff instead.

"I can't believe I agreed," Silver moaned softly as Lyra pointed out a cloud that looked exactly like an Oddish, I mean just look, you can see the leaves and the eyes and everything! "I knew I was going to lose, and yet… I agreed…"

"You talk to yourself?" Silver's neck snapped to her, silver eyes narrowed, daring her to continue. "Well, I'm just asking," Lyra said, shrugging elegantly.

Elegantly. Silver shook his head at himself. He wasn't one to come up with adjectives like that.

"Do you?" Lyra asked again, jerking Silver out of his thoughts.

"Do you think I do?" Silver spat, turning his back. He shoved his hands in his pockets, slouching down, and began to walk in no particular direction. He didn't care if he got lost. Hell, if he got lost, it would be a blessing. Then he could separate himself from this idiot marshmallow-hat girl. Anything was better than listening to her bubbly prattling.

But then she persisted. "You were, for a few moments there."

"How many days did you say?" Silver asked her for the umpteenth time, deliberately changing the subject. He knew it wasn't going to be the last time he asked, either.

"A week."

Seven. Whole. Days! How was he going to survive seven whole days with this idiot?

Well, almost six now, he thought, noticing it was dusk. Still. Six whole days! With a marshmallow-hat idiot!

Though now that he thought about it, she was a very attractive idiot, the way the setting sun lit up her face, positively shining off her pale skin. And the way her eyes brown sparkled was very beautiful, really. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, after all –

Oh, Arceus, no. He was not going to think of his rival like that. It was very un-Silver-like. And what's more, he was positive she wouldn't feel the same way about him. Damn. See? There goes his wild thoughts again. Silver didn't feel anything for the girl. Yes. Nothing at all. He just didn't like her.

"Are you okay? 'Cause if I didn't know you better, I'd say you're blushing."

Silver huffed and turned away, feeling his cheeks get hotter. Shit. Shit. Shit! "Says the idiot," he retorted, shifting her attention to the insult.

"I am not an idiot!"

He didn't respond, and she spent a good long while telling him why and exactly how she was not an idiot at all. Silver kept walking, and she kept following. She didn't even notice as they entered the PokeCenter in Violet City; in fact, the Nurse there gave them an amused look as he got two keys for the rooms, and still she lectured him. She was still ranting when Silver handed a key to her and nudged her to her door. Then it hit her as she was turning the lock. She turned to him, who was in the neighboring room. "I'm not done!" she shouted, resulting in several yells of "Shut up!" from other rooms.

Silver slammed his door in her face. It was strangely satisfying.

Despite knowing he was going to wake up to another horrendous day, he slept soundly, with his Pokemon all curled up around him, either on the bed or on the floor. Even his Magneton joined in on the fun, lying itself flat on the ground. Silver wasn't entirely certain if it could sleep at all, but it didn't disrupt him during the night, so at least he knew it could lie still for hours on end.

Done. If you would, please review! Thanks much!