Title: Connections
Author: Grey Saturdays
Series: Pokémon
Rating: PG
Genre: General
Summary: Defeat from Lyra brings about some interesting realizations for Karen.
Disclaimer: It still applies—Pokémon is not mine.
It is a humiliating defeat for Karen.
As valiantly as her team held up, it still isn't enough—as her paralyzed Umbreon succumbs to one last Surf attack by the girl's equally worn Vaporeon, the challenger's eyes sparkle with a light Karen hasn't seen in a challenger for years.
"We… A-Aqua, we did it!" the girl cheers, voice cracking as she joyously throws herself onto her Vaporeon, who in turn stumbles and crumples in her lap. The girl lets out a loud squeak, and then a sheepish laugh. "Sorry! I'll get you guys fixed up right away!"
"Well, aren't you good," murmurs Karen. "I like that in a trainer."
"T-thank you, ma'am," is the girl's reply, sounding genuinely grateful and humble. "I'll leave in a sec, I just need to heal my Pokémon first…" From her pocket, she draws out 5 balls, lines them up and presses the buttons in the middle; one by one, the rest of her team emerges, fainted or close to doing so. She then rummages through her bag, pulling out gleaming Revives, several bottles of Full Restore and a fistful of Leppa Berries.
"I'll start with you, Aqua," the challenger tells the Vaporeon, uncapping a Full Restore and letting it drink from the bottle; almost instantaneously, the life comes back into the creature and it affectionately nuzzles her owner's hand. With a small giggle, its owner strokes its head and grabs several Leppa Berries for it to eat. While Aqua munches happily on the berries, the girls scoots over to her unconscious Typhlosion.
"You're next, Blaze," she says quietly, slipping a Revive into its mouth, forcing it to chew before coaxing it down its throat. Blaze stirs, blinks slowly and sits up, looking utterly exhausted but content when it sees its trainer. The girl repeats the process of healing her Typhlosion, and eventually heals them all, while praising them for being so brave and tough in the face of such a challenging adversary.
A Vaporeon, Typhlosion, Ampharos, Crobat, Xatu and a Raticate, all with silly, unoriginal and childish names (for a moment, Karen has to stop herself from laughing aloud at Snuggles, the Raticate's name). A group of ragtag, commonplace misfits all under the loving guidance and care of an equally strange and naïve young girl. In its own bizarre right, it's a charming scene when all of them are reunited and eagerly rubbing against the girl, who looks as if she's already defeated the champion.
"… Lyra, was it?" The challenger looks at Karen attentively and nods as confirmation.
"Yeah. My name is Lyra."
For a moment, Karen says nothing, feeling as if she shouldn't disturb this brief moment of calm between Lyra and her team. But this girl is extraordinary, even if Karen will never admit it openly—most challengers that try to take her on barely last 5 minutes against her. A part of her feels guilty (but just a little bit) that their silly dreams of becoming champions and Pokémon masters are crushed by her, but nearly all the failures, she's noticed, have had one thing in common with each other.
"Strong Pokémon. Weak Pokémon. That is only the selfish perception of people. Truly skilled trainers should try to win with the Pokémon they love best." Lyra stops again and stares at Karen, at first looking bemused by Karen's sudden words.
"I like your style, Lyra," Karen continues. "You understand what's important." At first, Lyra looks taken aback (as she should be) but then a different light comes into her eyes, a look of determination. She stares Karen straight in the eyes and nods, fully comprehending of the older woman's words.
"Thank you, Karen."
Karen scoffs, not sure of why she suddenly feels so sentimental towards a still naïve, 10-year-old girl. She presses the button against the wall and the door behind her opens with a long creak. "Go on—the champion is waiting." With renewed vigor, Lyra springs up, a huge grin plastered on her lips.
"Right then!" she cheers, making a gesture towards her newly healed team, all who look as eager and ready as she does. "Let's go do our best, you guys!" Her team answers with cries and cheers, practically writhing with excitement as everyone but Blaze is placed back into their respective Pokéball. With the sweet awkwardness only a child can manage to pull off, Lyra waves at Karen and splits into a run towards Lance's room, Blaze trailing closely and proudly behind her.
The door shuts with an ominous squeak and it's only then that Karen lets an amused chuckle slip through her lips. The kid's enthusiasm is strangely contagious—it's been a considerable amount of time since such fresh energy and optimism breathed through the confines of the Indigo Plateau.
Karen kneels beside her Umbreon, who twitches slightly when it's scooped into its owner's arms. It's been with her since she was a little girl, and has remained unwaveringly obedient and loyal to its master. Even now, it had gone down not to fight for its own life, but to fight for Karen's dignity.
"You did a wonderful job, Umbreon." She wishes it was conscious so it could hear her praise, but Karen figures it wouldn't hurt a woman like her to say such kind words again when it's awake. With a small sigh, she gets on her feet again to go to the lobby and heal her team.
Maybe, just maybe, it hasn't been such a dismal defeat, after all.
"And good luck to you too, kid."
End.
Author's note- Short and sweet. Maybe someday I'll write all the exchanges that go on with the PC after beating the Elite Four. I happen to particularly like what Karen says after she's been defeated, thus this. And I love Karen, too. Like, a lot.
Reviews are not necessary but appreciated, and constructive criticism is greatly loved; if you see any funky grammar flubs or spelling errors, please point them out, as I'm insanely anal about them. Thanks for reading!