Horray for original titles.
Hehe, just because I can, I'm taking a short break from writing Outcast by Appearance and instead writing a short story today (I need practice writing in first person anyway, so meh, might as well).
This is an IronWillShipping (Riley x Dawn) story, including a few blurbs here and there bashing Pearl (God, I just want to run a knife through him. Argh, he drives me insane). I'll most likely make it 2-3 segments, depends on how much I want to write.
Anywho, as always... this might contain some coarse language, violence (lolwut), etc etc etc... oh, right, disclaimer. I don't own Pokemon or any of its characters (can you imagine owning Pearl? Eww), blah blah blah...
Yea, whatever. Let's get started.
Roll it!
Man, was I bummed. My winning streak was broken. I acquired my 5th badge, the Relic Badge, from Fantina not too long ago. I was feeling quite pleased with myself going to Canalave City, confident I would get the next badge with flying colours.
Unfortunately, it didn't go as well as I planned.
Byron defeated me.
No, that's an understatement. He massacred me. With just his Magneton out on the field, he had easily sweeped up my beloved Luxio, Gabite, and my newly-evolved Empoleon. Well, I guess it was foolish of me to bring out Empoleon, a water type, against Magneton. But that's not the point! Magneton was hardly injured even after T-bolting my Empoleon to death, so I surrendered before calling out my last Pokemon, Togetic. No need to see him beaten to a pulp.
I came out of the Gym depressed, and thinking my day couldn't get any worst, who did I have the luck of encountering?
Pearl.
Fucking Pearl.
I totally do not see how I ever got along with that kid. He was the most annoying person I'd ever met. There was a good type of hyper, and there was an annoying type of hyper. Pearl was the latter. Man, I just really wished I could sometimes...
Anyway. Not now.
"Hi, there, Dawn!" he greeted me with that stupid grin he was always wearing. I smiled weakly to acknowledge his presence – even if that was more than he deserved – and gave him a small wave of my hand.
Normally, I'd be happy to see him and have another go at wiping the floor with him to prove who the better Trainer was. However, this wasn't a good time, seeing as I just had my ass kicked by Byron, and three of my Pokemon were knocked out. Please Arceus, don't let him challenge me now, I silently prayed, please...
"Want to have a quick match, Dawn?"
I always knew praying was useless.
"I... er..." I quickly strained my brain for some brilliant excuse that would make him leave me alone. But then, the unthinkable happened: Pearl managed to use his pea-sized brain for the first time ever.
"Oh, you lost to Byron!" he reported as if he had just discovered gravity.
Yes, this was Sherlock Holmes right here.
"You know, Dawn, there's a small island just off the coast of Canalave that Trainers often go to before challenging Byron," he babbled. Despite myself, I felt a tingle of interest shoot straight into my body. "Uh... what was the name of it again?"
Leave it to Pearl to forget.
I controlled my urge to smack him upside the head with my fist, instead forcing myself to smile at him. "So, uh, Pearl," I started, trying to control the twitching at the bottom corner of my lip. "You sure you don't remember the name?"
"Name?" Pearl said, perking up, his eyes lighted up like a puppy's. "You know, Dawn, I've been thinking. Why aren't our names, you know, normal names? You're named after some time of day, and I'm named after jewelry. Just what was going on through our parent's mind when they named us?"
See why I hated him?
"Right," I said, smiling sweetly at him "Well, if you could just remember the name of that Island..."
"What island?" Pearl asked, frowning. "Do you mean Iron Island? The one everyone goes to Train to?"
Iron Island. Okay, now I all I needed to do was to find this Iron Island, Train a bit, and then come back and re-battle Byron. Then maybe I'd battle Pearl too. Actually, instead of beating up his Pokemon, I should just get Luxio to Thunderbolt him directly instead. That would be great. Maybe I could also get Gabite to...
"But seriously, Dawn, don't you reckon our parents were hippies at one point or another? I mean, just look at our names. They're effing ridi – "
"That's fabulous," I cut him off briskly. "Lovely to see you, Pearl."
Before he could say anything else, I quickly strode past him. After making sure I was well out of his eyesight, I slowed down my pace before coming to a full stop.
The memory of having suffered the worst defeat in my career as a Trainer was still fresh in mind, and it made me burn hot with humiliation thinking about it. My red stained cheeks, burning hot even in this freezing weather, were cooled down by the wind that was blowing my hair like the sails of a pirate ship. Strangely enough, it felt refreshing.
But I couldn't mope around forever. I had to go to this Iron Island, and Train. Not Train like I usually did, but harder than usual. If I wanted to win that badge, I had to give it my all to make my Pokemon stronger.
Especially Luxio. If he got stronger, so would his Thunderbolt attack, and that would be a good thing when it came to Pearl. The more pain he was in, the better. In fact, maybe I should work on just strengthening Luxio's attack...
"Move out of the way, girl!" I heard someone roar behind me. Before I could spin around and see who the voice belonged to, I was pushed aside roughly by a hand that felt weighed a hundred tons. I managed to utter a small "oof!" before collapsing on the ground, feeling the little dagger-like surface of the asphalt dig into my skin. I knew I was bleeding, because I felt throbbing at the wound site and could smell a faint scent of blood.
"David, you idiot! Don't push her like that!" one of the men yelled. Muttering broke out between the group of men, all dressed like sailors and helping carry a car-sized crate. The man who had yelled at David came over to me, concern clearly etched in his features.
"Are you okay?" he asked, offering me his hand. I tried to smile to assure him I was fine, but only managed to cringe at the sharp pain from my wound.
The man gasped, reaching down to put his arm around my shoulders and help me up. I could feel the warm blood leaking down the back of my leg, but I ignored the throbbing pain, instead focusing on standing straight.
"I'm fine," I reassured the man, managing to smile this time. "It was my fault; I shouldn't have been standing there."
The man frowned, unconvinced. Suddenly, he spotted the trail of blood running down my leg. He turned his head to scowl at David, who smiled sheepishly in return.
"That cut looks pretty bad, love," the man said, still scowling at David. "Sure you don't want to do something about it?"
For some reason, hearing that such a tiny cut could be such a big deal irked me. Did these men not think I was capable of taking care of a cut? Maybe they thought I was some tiny princess who cried over everything. Well, I would prove them wrong. I didn't have to be a big, bulky sailor to be able to shoulder the burden.
"It's just a tiny cut, I'll be fine," I assured him once more, somehow managing to keep smiling. "I have to get to Iron Island anyway, to Train." I stressed the last word in hopes that it would show that I wasn't just some little girl.
"Iron Island?" the man's eyes sparked up. "This is your lucky day, sweets! We're just about to head off to Iron Island to deliver this package!" He nudged his finger in the direction of the large crate the men were carrying. "We can drop you off if you want."
My eyes glowed like the moon on a dark night. "Can you really?" I said excitedly, all traces of resent instantly evaporating on the spot. "That would be great!"
***
Okay, so maybe the trip to Iron Island wasn't exactly the most luxurious one I've ever been on. I had to sit in a small cramped space next to a huge-ass crate that smelled like dead fish (and it probably was). The ride seemed felt like it took decades, and by the time David let me out, I was surprised to see I still retained my sense of smell.
I had no right to complain, though, so I just sucked it up. I'm sure it would be worth it in the end, when I defeated Byron.
Oh, and when I Thunderbolted Pearl. Couldn't forget that part.
"We're going to be here for awhile, so once you need to leave, just come and tell us," David said to me, avoiding my eye. I guess he felt guilty for hurling me across the pavement. I shot him a smile to show I forgave him, but I don't think he noticed.
There wasn't much to train with just outside the island, but just off a small hill, there was an opening to a cave. At the thought of all the powerful Pokemon that probably dwelled inside, excitement shot through me as if I was a five-year old who had been offered to live off candy for the rest of my life. This was going to be great!
Upon entering the cave, I encountered it to be pitch black. I sighed. Reaching into my belt, I pulled out a tiny Pokeball. Pressing lightly on the small white button in between, the Pokeball grew twice its size so that it now perfectly cupped around my hand.
"Come out, Lux," I said, tossing the Pokeball lightly into the air. After a moment or two, Luxio emerged from a flash of red light. He seemed to have recovered from Byron's battle, looking up at me cheerfully.
"Lux, you think you can light up this cave for me?" I asked, reaching down and patting his head. Luxio gave a small howl in return, and I retreated against the cave wall as he closed his eyes, seemingly concentrating.
I could see some sort of faint glow omitting around him, and a second later, he let out a loud howl as a blinding flash of light surrounded him. I shielded my eyes with my hand, unable to stare at the light. A few moments later, Luxio was done, and the cave was fully lit.
"Thanks Lux!" I squealed, giving him a tight hug. I had to reward him. Maybe I'd give him some of that expensive Pokemon food I bought yesterday. I heard it made Pokemon stronger, anyway. In fact, it would also benefit me. For when I destroyed Pearl, I mean.
"What was that light?"
I jumped up at the new voice, worried that maybe I was about to be kicked out of the cave. I spun around, ready to explain about my Training and Luxio's use of Flash, when suddenly I felt the words get caught in my throat. Standing in front of me was the most gorgeous man I had ever laid eyes on.
Will Dawn ever...
Riley: WAIT A MINUTE!!!
Val: Don't interrupt me; I was in the middle of talking!
Riley: Just hold on a second. We're cutting off here? NOW? I only got one line. I didn't even get to say my name. And I think putting my name in front of this line to show it's me speaking just spoiled the beginning of next chapter.
Val: Dude, seriously, I said at the beginning this was an IronWillShippingstory. Who else could be talking to Dawn?
Riley: I don't know... Maybe Pearl came by and Dawn realized just how beautiful he was?
Val: This isn't a TwinleafShipping fic, Riley.
Riley: Yea, well, Pearl would make a better pairing to Dawn than me. I don't even like her. Do I look like a pedophile to you?
Val: You see why I cut off here? You obviously need time to prepare and learn your role properly. If we had continued, you'd probably kill Dawn the next paragraph. I didn't hire you for that.
Riley: But you didn't –
Val: No "buts!" Now stfu and go learn your role in time for chapter 2 or you're fired. Now, continuing from where I left off, before you were rude enough to interrupt me...
Will Dawn ever Thunderbolt Pearl?
Will Riley learn his role in time?
Will I ever stop hating Pearl?
Find this all out... NEXT CHAPTER!
P.S: I know you don't use Flash in Iron Island, but I added it in anyway. Deal with it.