Disclaimer: No ownership of Pokémon or Legend of Zelda.
Lon Lon Love
Chapter 1: Waking Lullaby
A pink wheel steered wildly over trenches on the ground. A pink-haired girl in a white t-shirt and shorts watched in horror as the wheel bounced out of control. A crowd watched as the wheel hit one more trench. "Now, Pikachu!" a raven-haired boy ordered. He wore an open blue jacket over a black t-shirt and jeans while sporting a red baseball cap with a white front and a green triangle as a logo. "Toss Miltank in the air!" Something pushed the wheel to the sky where it unraveled as a pink cow.
"Miltank!" the pink-haired cried. From the last trench was a yellow mouse with red circled cheeks and a lightning bolt as a tail.
"Finish it with Thunder Shock!" The mouse emitted a burst of electricity and struck the cow heavily. It crashed the ground with swirls in its eyes. A gray-haired, gray-moustached man rose a hand in the air, wearing a cowboy hat, leather vest over his beige shirt and slacks.
"Miltank is unable to battle!" he ruled. "Pikachu wins! The match goes to Ash of Pallet Town!" The raven-haired pumped his fist as the mouse ran back to him in jubilation.
"Way to go, Pikachu!" The mouse squeaked in delight to the win. The pink-haired came to Miltank, concerned about its health.
"You okay?" she asked. Miltank lowly mooed, deflated from the loss. "You did great out there." She stood and dug in her pocket as he, a redhead ponytailed girl, a tanned spiky-haired brunette young man and an egg-shaped creature came to the raven-haired.
"Ash, that was great!" the redhead complimented. She wore an undersize yellow tank-top and jean shorts held by suspenders while holding the egg-shape creature with red and blue spots on its shell. "You took lessons from Team Rocket's invasion!" The tanned teen agreed. He wore a green vest over an orange t-shirt and slacks.
"Guess Team Rocket actually helped in this," he pointed out before reviewing what took place. "Cyndaquil attacked Miltank's Rollout attack to alter its balance. Then, Totodile used its Water Gun attack to dig those trenches to knock Miltank's path out of whack. Finally, Ash used Pikachu's speed to further disorient Miltank and used the leverage to straighten out the Rollout and ended it with a well-placed Thunder Shock attack." The pink-haired and her Miltank came forward with her item.
"Ash, that was a great battle we had," she complimented.
"Thanks, Whitney," he acknowledged. "So, can I have that rematch at the Gym?" Whitney snickered to the offer.
"About that… Here!" She presented a pin-like object. It was diamond-shaped with a gold center surrounded by a thin silver lining. Ash looked at the object, mystified.
"The Plain Badge? But don't I need to beat you in a Pokémon Gym to earn it?"
"Not exactly, Ash," the gray-haired clarified. "A Pokémon Gym is only a building. A Gym Battle can take place anywhere. By defeating the Gym Leader's strongest Pokémon does the Pokémon Trainer earn the badge." Understanding, Ash took the badge from Whitney's hand and risen it to the air in excitement.
"Yeah! I just earned… The Plain Badge!" Ash's friends applauded his effort. The gray-haired checked his watch, a concern stemming. To Whitney, an issue.
"Uncle Milton?" The gray-haired turned to the kids.
"Ash, Misty, Brock," he called. "Why don't you spend the night here at the farm? You won't be able to reach the next town until early in the morning." A thoughtful idea and no one wanted to pass it up.
"Sure thing!" the redhead accepted. "I'll admit, it'll be the first time I've slept on a farm." The egg shrilled to the idea.
"Misty, I doubt even Ash's slept in one, himself," the tanned teen pointed out. "But it also means one other thing: I'll be in the kitchen!" Everyone giggled to the teen's plan.
"Brock!" laughed Ash. The group headed back inside but Ash turned to Whitney's Miltank, having the same concern. "You're a tough Pokémon, Miltank. I can see why Whitney likes you as the strongest in her lineup." Miltank mooed, pleased with the thoughtful praise. Pikachu squeaked in agreement. Inside, Ash released a small blue crocodile with red scales and a blue mouse with red spots on its back. They drank the milk, feeling revitalized with each sip. Ash knelt to the new creatures and showed them the Plain Badge. "Totodile… Cyndaquil… we did it. We won Whitney's Badge thanks to your help." The creatures squeaked and roared happily to the accomplishment. Even Pikachu shared its support to its partners. The crocodile danced, proud to be part of a winning unit.
"And there goes Totodile again!" joked Misty. "Give it any kind of praise and it'll dance to no end." Ash snickered to Misty's poke, not minding Totodile's little two-step.
"As long as Totodile's healthy, it's all that matters." After they ate dinner, Whitney guided the trainers to a spare bedroom.
"Here you go!" she offered. "You'll be well rested and on your way to the next Pokémon Gym. By the way, where are you going next?" Ash blinked at the thought. To him, he had no idea where to go.
"Not sure." Brock brought out a booklet and checked through pages.
"The next Pokémon Gym is in Ecruteak City," he suggested. "We do need to pass Goldenrod City before walking toward the next Gym." Ash thought about the idea before agreeing to it.
"Ecruteak City it is." Whitney giggled to the two before turning for another room.
"Well, Milton and I will see you off," she planned. "Goodnight!" Ash and his friends entered and settled in the room offered. No lights within, everyone appeared asleep. Suddenly, a voice echoed softly in the air.
"Epona..." someone began to sing. "Epona..." The name alerted Ash and Pikachu, waking them. "Come to my side; when we're together, I'm not lonely!" Ash and Pikachu looked around for the singer, which sounded like a young girl, maybe around Ash's age. "So, Epona… Stay here with me; I'll protect only you!" The lyrics mystified Ash.
"Epona?" he repeated the name. "Who's that?" Not even his Pokémon knew. They exited and turned to Misty, her hair not in a ponytail. He could wake her but felt it wasn't a good idea. "Let's go check outside." Pikachu jerked a nod. Ditching his jacket and cap, Ash and Pikachu exited the room and soon the house. The door's opening and closing woke Whitney as the song continued.
"Standing here, I remember; the dawn of that day..." Whitney looked out the window and saw Ash and Pikachu standing.
"Ash?" she gawked before shuffling out of bed. In a minute, she exited the house herself as she found Ash and Pikachu rushing to the barn.
"The moon sinking, you were born… with the rising sun." Ash picked up the song and sensed he was on the right track.
"This way!" he detected. Whitney began to think Ash heard a rustling in the barn, a thought that someone broke into the barn for anything like farm equipment. A couple of minutes later, Ash opened the barn door to look for the source. Soft humming now echoed around. "Is it in here?" He wasn't aware about their tail. He saw a herd of Miltank, somehow not disturbed by the song.
"Epona… Epona… Come to my side; when we're together, I'm not sad… So, Epona, stay here with me, and keep listening to my song." Ash couldn't pinpoint the singing, feeling mixed with the lyrics.
"Who in the world is Epona?" Whitney heard Ash's question, not sure herself.
"What are you talking about?" she asked. Ash turned to Whitney as a Miltank awoken.
"Whitney?" The pink-haired stepped to Ash as Miltank stepped to the railing which separated it and the humans.
"Did you hear something that brought you here?"
"Yeah, someone singing about… 'Epona.' It's not a name I'd recognize." Whitney looked befuddled with the name herself.
"Yeah, that name doesn't ring a bell to me, either." Ash heard the humming and looked at the second floor.
"Is it up there?" He used a ladder to climb to the upper portion of the barn with Pikachu waiting on Whitney's shoulder.
"Careful!" Ash reached the top as Whitney repositioned herself in front of a haystack. Looking around, Ash didn't see anything.
"Not here..." Whoever sang about Epona continued.
"Standing here, I remember…" the singer hummed. "That time when… My mother wrote for you; This song." Ash listened, realizing it came from beneath. Miltank wanted to know the information and tried to hurdle the railing. However, it didn't clear the steel and tripped, falling over. Curling itself, it rolled around like the wheel it shaped itself before striking the ladder while Ash was still on the top step. The leg broke on impact and began to shake from the lone standing leg. The ladder began to fall.
"Miltank, catch!" ordered Whitney. Miltank, rather limber for its size, dashed to try and catch Ash as the ladder collapsed. The Milk Cow Pokémon arrived by the haystack as Ash bailed from the broken ladder. Using its hooves, Miltank had Ash… but not enough. He slipped and Whitney was in the worst spot: in Ash's falling path. He landed on her and both fell into the haystack. The contact knocked Pikachu from Whitney's shoulder but Miltank caught the mouse with its hooves. Recovering, Pikachu worried about Ash. Miltank mooed to Pikachu before they began to dig in the pile. Pikachu entered but screeched to something, prompting Miltank to dive in. Somewhere else, Ash and Whitney emerged from another haystack. Whitney landed back first, holding Ash. The landing made Ash pin Whitney and brought their lips together. Both seemed perplexed about kissing each other. When Whitney's grip loosened, Ash pushed himself up.
"Sorry!" he snapped a panicked reply. "I-I d-didn't mean to-"
"It's okay! I-It was an accident!" Their Pokémon arrived and found their owners.
"When we're together, I'm not sad," the singer hummed. Everyone blinked to the new voice. They looked around, noticing a different setting from their own. White cows chewed on grass and the door to this new barn looked dilapidated compared to the barn at Whitney's.
"Okay… We're not in your barn," Ash noted. Those aren't more Miltank."
"Yeah, they're… regular cows," Whitney murmured. Brushing off, Ash walked over to the door and opened it slightly. Whitney joined and so did Pikachu. Miltank took an interest to the cows with their food. Ash looked through the doorway and found a redhead girl wearing a long white nightgown by the wooded fence. She also had pointy ears. She looked at the moon overhead, her head swaying side to side.
"Never forget this song," she continued to sing. "This song!" The source of the song located, Ash stepped out to meet this girl. She hummed for sometime. "I hope that my knight comes. I know I can't be like Princess Zelda..." Ash and Whitney blinked to the wish of the girl. She began to sing her tune again. "Epona… Epona..." Ash and Whitney's suspicions grew to the name.
"Epona?" Hearing Whitney, the girl stopped her encore performance and turned to the two invaders. Her face was of wonder and interest.
"Wh- Who are you?" A standoff ensued. Pikachu thought to approach the girl, wanting to play peacemaker. Finding the Pokémon, the girl knelt to Pikachu and petted. "You're a cute little mouse." Pikachu squeaked in delight.
"When all else fails, Pikachu's the one to break the stalemate for peace." The girl heard Whitney and asked about Ash's Pokémon.
"His name's Pikachu?"
"Yep, and he's my partner," Ash claimed. Pikachu dashed back to Ash and up his shoulder.
"Just like me and Epona." Hearing the name once more, they wanted to ask.
"Who's this… Epona that you're singing? I heard it all the way from her home." The girl looked astonished that her voice had plenty of carry.
"You did? I wasn't singing it that loud, or else Ingo would've heard me." Names unfamiliar, land unfamiliar, this little redhead girl… What did Ash, Whitney and the Pokémon stumble into?
TO BE CONTINUED...