Hey, guys! So… This is my newest fanfic and it's one that I've had a lot of fun planning. Basically, I wanted to include all the regions into one story, so, eventually, this will expand to discuss (hopefully) every main character in the games. Really, I was just wondering, how can I fit all of my hunky men into one story? However, it focuses mainly on Johto (it's my favorite!). Main pairing is Lance/Lyra, but, believe me, there will be plenty more included. I plan on having fun with this one. I'm not going to mention any more because I wouldn't want to give things away! ;)
These chapters are a bit longer than my usual stuff, which makes me happy, and I have a few saved up, so updates should be pretty quick (at least in the beginning).
So… Yeah. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon in any way. If I did, every male character who has fangirls would fear me. I enjoy glomping. :D
Chapter 1- The Calm
"Lyra?"
The dragon master walked into the Johto champion's kitchen with a questioning look only to find the room empty. He paused, gathering his thoughts and trying to process where the young women could be.
"Lance, in here!"
Further investigation found the youngest ever Johto champion seated in her study, pouring over old newspaper clippings. At twenty years old now, she had long since abandoned the pigtails and overalls of her journey. Johto's sweetheart had grown up and Lance was the first one to admit it. Her chesnut hair was now found most commonly in a braid with her trademark hat, although for now it was resting on the desk. Today, she happened to be wearing jean shorts and a form-fitting navy t-shirt, opting for more casual wear as she always did. Four years had passed since she had become Champion and although her twenty made Lance (and his 27) feel old, he no longer felt any more mature. In fact, he was sure that Lyra would insist that he was much less mature.
"Well, don't you look spiffy," Lyra commented upon seeing her friend dressed in his full attire. "Cape and all. Did you come from a meeting or something?"
Lance crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe. "Ly, what are you doing? I thought we were all going to have dinner. Silver and Ethan are already on their way and you said you were cooking." After a pause for thought, he proceeded to answer her earlier question. "And yes. I was on Champion duty and was too lazy to change, if you must know."
The girl grinned, glancing up from her reading. "Well, aren't you cool? And… Eh, I got time."
The dragon master nodded at the clock. "They're due in five minutes. What are you planning on making?"
Lyra kept that silly grin on her face. "Oh. Does that need to be planned beforehand?"
"Lyra! What have you been doing all day?"
"Oh, calm down, Lance," she laughed, lighting up the room as she always did. "I already talked to both of them. We're ordering in Chinese food. I just kind of assumed you were okay with that."
"Oh," he took a seat on the couch, making himself comfortable. "Well, then. That sounds good. Well… What have you actually been doing all day?"
"Oh, Lance, it's been a great day!" She got up immediately, grabbing the old newpaper clippings that had been resting on her desk. "I went to the League library and I found these articles. It was more information on the Pallet Town trio that I've been looking into-"
"Lyra," Lance shook his head, but took the articles from her nonetheless to look over them. "You're still looking into that?"
"Yes," she answered lightly, resting against the arm of the couch. "You know I find it interesting."
"Just leave things alone, Ly," he put the papers on the coffee table, turning to face her again. "Everyone can tell that they've been through a lot. Blue is the most functioning one and his method of dealing with life is to be a total jerk."
"From what I've gathered, he was a jerk before all that happened as well-" Lyra cut in, making a point.
"Fine," Lance conceded. "You have a point. But, honestly, I'd leave it alone. There's nothing to find."
"But what if Leaf is still out there?" She asked imploringly, crossing her arms. "No one knows what happened to her and no one will talk about it. I want to talk about it. She's an amazing trainer and she deserves to be talked about."
She had this bit between her teeth now and Lance knew that he would get nowhere talking to her about it. She was so stubborn sometimes. "Okay, fine. Just don't involve Red or Blue in this. They've already been through it- let's not make them go through it again."
"This is purely my investigation, Lance. I promise."
"Okay," he answered, "Still. Just a piece of advice. I advise that you-"
His words were interrupted by the doorbell.
"Well," Lyra smiled, making for the door. "That's either the food or the boys, so let's see which."
"Ethan and Silver can't be that fast. They disagree too much," the dragon master muttered wryly, but Lyra was already out of ear range. He busied himself with putting away the newspaper clippings for Lyra, reflecting on the elements of life now that Lyra, Silver, and Ethan had come into his life. He had never felt bad when Lyra had defeated him those four years ago; it wasn't possible with the kind of person that Lyra was (it had been the same when Red had taken the title, although Lance had berated himself for weeks after losing to the other Pallet kid, Blue- smarmy bastard). Besides, Lance was still Champion of Kanto, a title that he bore with pride, and with his job as a G-man still demanding his time, he was kept busy. He couldn't imagine life anywhere else. The League Building and its inhabitant had become his home now.
And it wasn't just him that felt like the League building was his home. Silver came and went and, strangely, he seemed to visit quite often. Lance had become his surrogate mentor in a way (at least, as much of a mentor as Silver would ever allow) and they sparred frequently. Silver also kept challenging Lyra, but their battles never seemed to have a clear winner. Lance would always find their frequent bouts dissolved into an argument (which consisted of Lyra's insistent persuasion and Silver's fierce yelling) that could not be resolved and resulted in both sides giving up on the match altogether. Silver entered every tournament around, though, and destroyed his opponents, gaining a reputation throughout all the regions. Every time anyone asked him why he was still hanging around here, he claimed that it was so he could defeat Lyra any time he wanted, but the rest of them knew better. Silver had finally found a niche in the world- one where he could still beat up whoever he wanted to and have somewhere to come back to.
And Ethan was always a constant. Although he was working hard to become a professor under Professor Elm, he visited Indigo Plateau almost three times a week and never was out-of-touch for long. This was their base, their foundation, and they'd carved out quite a life for themselves. It was too perfect, Lance ruminated, closing her desk drawer. He didn't want to lose it, not when he had such a good thing in his life.
Lyra reappeared in the door, motioning to him. "It's the food. C'mon and get some before Ethan and Silver come and take all the good stuff."
He complied, following her. "Really? We're starting without them?"
"Dude, they're officially two minutes late as of now," Lyra looked at him seriously. "I'm not waiting any longer."
The dragon master whistled. "Low blow, even for you, Miss Kotone."
She grinned cheekily. "Of course. How do you think I became champion?"
"Please. You won that fair and square."
"No way. How could little old me beat a big old dragon master like you, Lance?"
"Okay, now your humility is making me look bad."
"Me make you look bad? Never."
"I'd make you Dragonite food if it wasn't for the fact that you're champion."
"And that Ryo is one big marshmellow."
"Just go get some plates for us, Ly."
"Okay!"
The evening was off to a good start.
"Really? You already started?"
As the two boys finally tramped in, the look on the face of one of them was one of utter disappointment and distress.
"You snooze, you lose, Ethan," Lyra grinned, motioning for her childhood friend to pull up a chair next to her. "Don't worry. I made sure Lance didn't eat ALL the sweet and sour chicken."
"And I was eyeing it," the red-headed champion added, leaning in to grab a dumpling.
"Well, if the idiot over here wasn't so adamant about taking the long way, maybe we actually would've gotten here on time for a change," the other boy added, his long red hair giving him away as Lyra's longtime rival.
"There was a swarm of wild Yanma I wanted to check out," Ethan added enthusiastically, moving a seat on the side of Lyra opposite Lance. "They were great, Ly. Even better than you had described."
She smiled at Ethan's energy. "It's something you have to see in person." Turning to her rival, she laughed when she saw his disgruntled face. "Aw, Silver, don't be such a pout. Your face is gonna stay that way if you're not careful." She glanced over the ensemble of Chinese food on the table. "Dumpling?"
Silver sighed, looking defeated, but pulled up a chair nonetheless.
Both of the latecomers dug into the food with gusto and it took a few minutes before a normal table conversation could be had.
"Why aren't you gone yet?" Silver started the conversation, addressing the dragon master who was calmly getting more fried rice. "I heard there's some trouble in one of the outer regions."
Lance shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "Ranger business. We're in close contact with the Union, so, we're monitoring the situation. But we won't get involved unless they ask."
"What's going on?" Lyra asked, her interest piqued.
"Some kind of crime syndicate is stirring up trouble in Almia," Lance explained, pausing in his eating to explain. "That's ranger territory, so we let them deal with it."
"So are you going to have to go there or not?" The girl pressed, face concerned.
"I doubt it," he answered. "It's far and not on our radar all that much."
"Rangers are pansies anyway," Silver muttered.
"You might regret saying that in the future when a ranger kicks your ass," Ethan pointed out through a mouthful of teriyaki chicken.
"Yeah, thanks for the warning, moron," the red-head retorted condescendingly.
"I hate it when you use that tone, you jerk," the professor-in-training frowned at Silver, chewing angrily now. "You think you're better than everyone else."
"Well… I'd say he mostly just thinks he's better than you," Lyra put in, even while Lance was giving her a warning glare.
This culminated in a full-fledged (one-sided) yelling match on Ethan's part, while Silver just rolled his eyes and harrumphed a few times, deviating from this sanctimonious mood only to call him names every once in a while. "Really, Ly?" Lance gave her a look. "Did you really have to start this?"
The Johto champion giggled. "I just have too much fun."
At that moment, the dragon master's phone went off, vibrating in his pocket, and he excused himself from the table while Lyra decided she probably should attempt to break up this Silver and Ethan argument. Only after a few more rounds of insults was she finally successful and the table resumed their peaceful eating.
"Lyra!" Ethan suddenly exclaimed, obviously having remembered something important. "I forgot to tell you earlier! Next week, Professor Elm is headed out on a nine-month-long research trip and he's putting me in charge of the lab while he's gone. Isn't that awesome?"
The Johto champion grinned broadly. "Really? No way! Ethan, that's awesome! I'm so proud of you. In fact, with that announcement, let's do fortune cookies. I'll bet yours will be a good omen for your new responsibilities." She found the pile of them at the bottom of the paper bag and picked up the first one. Holding it close to her ear as if she was listening for something, she paused, and then finally nodded. "Silver, this one is for you."
"Do you really insist on going through this preposterous exercise?" The red-head muttered, albeit accepting his cookie.
"Don't open it yet, Silver. You know the rules."
The look on her rival's face just made all this more worthwhile. "And… this one is for Ethan."
"Awesome!" The boy beamed, accepting his cookie.
"This one…" Lyra paused, looking concerned. "Is for Lance, but we'll have to wait until he gets back-"
The door opened at that moment and said missing person took their seat again. "Sorry, I'm back. And ready for fortune cookie wisdom."
"Here's yours," Lyra handed the aforementioned fortune cookie to Lance and took the last one for herself, obviously checking to make sure it was indeed hers before claiming it. "And… Now we can all open them."
The sound of plastic ripping ensued and each person cracked open their fortune cookie for the slip of paper inside. Lyra then pointed to Silver first. "Silver. You first."
After much cajoling and prodding, Silver finally gave in, although very, very reluctantly and with the promise that he could go home without anyone bothering him after this. So, in the most monotone voice possible, he proceeded to read his fortune, "If you want the rainbow, you must put up with the rain."
"Aw… Silver. How cute," Lyra cut in immediately, grinning deviously. "See? If you want to hang out with us, then you have to put up with this unpleasantness sometimes."
"But I don't want to hang out with you guys," Silver muttered under his breath, which was ignored by a happy Lyra.
"Ethan. You next."
The dark-haired boy happily read his, being the only one that enthusiastically went along with Lyra's wishes. "Trust your heart. The universe is guiding your life."
"See, Ethan!" Lyra exclaimed. "That means that things will go great."
The boy nodded, tucking the slip of paper in his pocket.
Lyra turned her attention to the man sitting next to her now. "Lance, your turn."
The dragon master cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. "Ah, I'd rather not share."
The champion got a mischievous glint in her eye. "Why not?"
"No reason."
"Give it up, dragon boy."
"Nah. I'd really rather not."
"C'mon, please?"
"Nope."
"Oh, you got a love one, didn't you?" The girl asked, grinning at him. "That's why you don't want to share. Something like, 'A secret admirer will send you flowers' or something like that. Too bad you have, like, a thousand fangirls anyway, so of course you have secret admirers."
"It's nothing of the sort," the man answered curtly, evading Lyra's reach.
"I will get it," she announced determinedly.
Lance stood up out of his chair. "I'm going to go to the bathroom."
"Oh, no you don't! Get back here, Lance!"
Unread on the table was the girl's own fortune. Do not seek so much to find the answer as to understand the question better.
Minutes later, with Lance having barricaded himself in the bathroom, Lyra sat down next the locked door, exhausted.
"Hey, Lance?"
"Yeah."
"Who were you talking to on the phone?"
"Steven. I'm leaving for Hoenn tonight."
Her mouth slanted in unhappiness. "I thought as much."
"With any luck, I'll be back by the end of the week though. You'll just have to train by yourself until then."
"Hm, I don't think I'll stick around the League while you're gone. I have something I want to do."
The alarm was evident in the dragon master's voice and she could just picture the face he was making right now. "Where are you going to go?"
"I want to visit Pallet Town. See what I can find out about these kids' backgrounds. Maybe it'll help with my info gathering."
There was a pause. Lyra could tell that he was choosing carefully what to say next.
"Just wait until I get back. I'll go with you."
"I don't want to wait. I'll ask Silver to go with me if you don't think I should go alone."
"Really? Silver is your solution?"
"Yes."
"You know I don't doubt your skills, Lyra. I know you can handle yourself. It's just that things are getting worse out there. All the information coming in suggests something bigger than either of us can handle. Be careful."
"You be careful." She shot back, gaze going to the door that separated them. "Recon with Steven Stone is never a walk in the park. You two always get into trouble."
She could just picture the grin that came to his face. "True. We nearly gave you a heart attack that last time."
"You had disappeared off the map. Don't mess Kyogre and Groudon like that again, no matter what Steven may have ideas about. You guys may be best friends and you know I think he's a great guy, but last time was a little too extreme."
"It was just a test run of a little theory of Steven's," Lance retorted. "And I told you. We learned our lesson."
"Well, I'm going to go to Pallet Town with Silver. The League can hold any challengers for a day or two. Only a few in the last year have gotten up that far anyway. Karen's been destroying the few who do come through with that Houndoom of hers."
"She's a power player all right. Make sure to keep her on your side."
"Don't worry, champ," Lyra grinned. "I plan to."
A moment hung in the air in which neither of them spoke, simply relaxing in the moment. "Hey… Ly? Can I come out now?"
She sighed. "I guess so. And I won't make you read your fortune." She moved to the side and the door opened to reveal a sheepish dragon tamer. Lyra cracked a smile. "I don't think I've ever seen a guy in a cape run away so fast."
He shrugged. "You're scary when you're like that."
"Hm. I'll take your word for it."
She still had to ask Silver to come with to Pallet Town before the night ended, now that she had come up with this wonderful idea to refute Lance's arguments. How was she going to convince Silver, the great dud, to go on a trip with her?
And, so, when everyone was leaving, she pulled Silver to the side.
"Er… Silver. I have a favor to ask."
He looked disinterested. "Eh. I don't really like you, so, no."
All of a sudden, she was fed up and decided that the only way she was going to get anywhere was to get tough. Besides, Silver was the guy that existed to be coerced into doing things that he really didn't want to do because it was just too much fun for the one doing the coercing. "Silver. You're coming with me to Kanto for a little trip."
"Really?" His response was one of surprise, but also a distant one. "And… What makes you think I'm going to do that?"
"Cause if not, I'm going to let a few things slip about that girl you met last year," she answered casually, examining her fingernails objectively.
Silver's face immediately turned dark. "You wouldn't."
"Oh, I would," the champion retorted, smiling innocently. "You'll be ready by noon tomorrow then? I just have to alert the League that I'm leaving."
She took his glare as a yes.
"What do you want in Kanto?"
She faced him after starting to walk away. "I'm going to Pallet Town."
And that explained everything. Anyone going to Pallet Town could only be looking into one thing. The boy rolled his eyes.
"You're wasting your time."
"Maybe so," she answered, turning away from her to let her gaze settle on the darkness outside. "Maybe I am. But why don't we find out?"
"You're really going to insist on this?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Red was my hero when I started my journey. Leaf was who I wanted to be. Blue was who I wanted to marry. They once were the stars of Kanto. Now they're only legends and I want to know why."
"Some stories don't follow the laws of reason, though. And some don't go where you want them to."
"I know," she knew that Silver was at least listening to her now. He was at least going to be of some help. "But I'd like to know anyway."
"Just don't be surprised when you're disappointed."
The champion made a face. "You sound like Lance."
Silver spat in disgust, as if suddenly remembering himself. "Kotone. Don't ever compare me to that bleeding heart."
"Silver," she laughed, flicking him a side glance with a devious smile. "You're not the heartless bastard that you were four years ago, no matter how hard you try to be." He used to be so angry at her, Lyra remembered. He still had that asshole attitude, but the bitterness wasn't as strong. She wondered what had happened to heal that, but she just assumed it was time. But she would never get him to admit that he'd finally found a way to be happy. Deep down, Silver was Silver and there was nothing anyone could do to change that.
Silver's face turned to that of irritation and anger. "Shut up, Kotone. What do you know about me anyway?"
Lyra was unaffected by his retort. She grinned, shooing him out the door. "See you tomorrow, Silver!"
He scowled, resolving to make her regret bringing him along and storing insults for later.
But, for now, he went home.
Once everyone left to go home (Lance only to go down the corridor to his quarters within the League Building), the Johto Champion went about getting ready for bed. Putting on pajama pants and a shirt a few sizes too big for her (comfort always came first), she collapsed on her bed for a few seconds, then finally sat back up with her legs crossed in from of her. Her braid from earlier was half-falling out by now and her eyes blinked blearily, but she surveyed her pokemon that were randomly strewn about the room.
Sasha, her espeon, was curled at the foot of the bed and Lyra absent-mindedly rubbed behind her ears, smiling at the purr she got in response. The cat pokemon was always so aloof until she had her weak spot exploited.
Her pidgeot, Tor (short for Tornado), was nestled in a nest of blankets that always were arranged in the corner of the room. Now that it was night time, the pig-headed flying pokemon was strangely subdued, but she was glad to see it. He literally acted like his namesake when it came to any kind of activity, proving to be most exhausting.
The largest pokemon in the room was Tank, her tyrannitar. He always arranged himself on his back in the space right next to bed. A sweetie at heart, his tail sometimes accidently brushed against Tor's nest in the middle of the night, setting the short-fused bird off and waking Lyra from her sleep to stop a fight (or rather, a pointless battle as Tank ignored a Tor that thought he could somehow get past the tyrannitar's armor with his bare talons).
The only inhabitant that could not fit in the room was her red gyarados, Bellona, and this had long since been remedied by a sliding glass door in her room with a pool directly outside, which allowed the champion's most recognizable pokemon (and the one that Lance regretfully said "he let get away from him") to rest her head right outside the door (which Lyra almost always left open). Happy to be included, the generally clumsy giant pokemon was busy breathing all over-
Jag, who was the Charizard sitting in the corner closest to the sliding glass door. Generally known as the tough and hard-working one, he had been a birthday present from Lance- a pseudo-Dragon type was the best she was allowed from him, apparently. He dealed with Bellona breathing on his in the typical way, which was mostly to ignore it. He took any hardship the same way- with a resolute determination to refuse to acknowledge the problem. How much he was like his original owner, the girl thought with a smile.
Which left her starter and best friend, Cav the meganium as the one who took up the other half of her bed. Nicknamed Cav due to his cavalier-like actions, he was the leader of the team and the one who jumped into things first. Right now, however, he was being a big turd as she tried to push him to the side good-naturedly, unsuccessful in her attempt to make a spot for herself on the bed.
But, right now, surrounded by her pokemon, she felt more at home than anywhere else. This was her closest family- the ones she started and ended the day with- and she couldn't image it any other way. She was champion because of them. They gave her her power and she created a home for them. They were so interconnected that they could not be separated and she thought of this more as she snuggled up under the covers, Sasha moving to curl up in the crook of her trainer's legs and Cav shoving his nose in her face.
She grinned, half petting the meganium's head and half pushing the pokemon away . "Okay, guys, get to sleep."
Jag gave fiery snort from one side, while Tank grumbled his response and Tor squawked in his usual, biting fashion.
She pulled to covers up closer to her chin.
No matter what happened, she would never let anything happen to them.
Everything she felt for them now could be felt in the empty silence that followed- these moments that were the calm before the storm- as they all drifted off to sleep.
Notes:
1) Yes, I googled fortune cookie messages. There are so many good ones out there. :D
2) I never really loved third generation until just recently when I looked at Steven Stone again. Yes, I have found yet another animated, nonexistent man that I can pledge to one day marry. So he will be much included in this story. Included much. I don't know. Grammar is tricky.
3) Lyra has a stacked team. I acknowledge this and admit that I am jealous. I WANT A CHARIZARD IN REAL LIFE!
4) I love Lance. He rocks the cape look. Yet, I do wonder people would take him seriously in real life… I'd probably just giggle.
5) One of the reasons I love Gold/Silver/Crystal is the part where you can go into Kanto and the whole place is different because it's a sequel. It's such amazing fanfiction material! Why is Red just chilling at Mt. Silver? Why is Blue so bitter when you have to go talk to him on Cinnabar Island? Oh, the drama! And then I figured I'd add Leaf in too. So... That's the beginning intrigue of this story.
6) Also, I'm open to a beta, if anyone's volunteering. I have a bad habit of not thoroughly re-reading my working and noticing that some of my sentences are just structured terribly. It would be very much appreciated.
And… Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review!