The teenager sat on top of his bed, strumming a semi-acoustic guitar that was a brilliant azure color. He could barely stop smiling-in a few hours, his idol band Yo! Ai! was going to begin their concert just a mile away from his own house.
His room was lit only by the window that offered a view of the ocean by the harbor. Through that window, he could also view the lights indicating the concert preparations. To the right of the window, there was a bookshelf crammed with binders and books of sheet music, some of it even strewn on the floor from the sheer lack of storage. A large poster of the band performing tonight was set up on the other side of the window, obviously prized as the framing was custom-made.
The teenager's eyes shifted from the preparations outside to the poster. The percussionist was a man who had an energetic smile and a red afro. Beside him, the lead guitarist had the same hue of red hair that was pulled back into a short ponytail. The poster captured a great likeness of the bass player-his slightly long, spiked blond hair was swishing to the side as he played almost aggressively to contrast with his relatively apathetic look. And then there was the lead singer-with cordovan hair and matching eyes hidden behind glasses, with quite the grin that could be categorized as mischievous.
Staring at the poster was an eighteen-year old boy with spiky, slightly long midnight blue hair. His eyes were navy blue, but almost seemed to light up as he stared at the poster. For tonight's event, he wore slightly baggy brown pants and a v-neck, charcoal-colored baseball tee.
Next to him was a Lucario that sat cross-legged, watching with a very amused expression at how easily his Trainer fell victim to the band.
"In all of Sinnoh...here, on Iron Island! Can you believe it, Lucario?" Riley exclaimed finally, his voice unable to contain the excitement. He took a breath and continued to pick at the strings. Despite how slender his frame was, his fingers were calloused enough due to years of playing the guitar.
Lucario nodded, closing his eyes and listening in enjoyment as Riley played the guitar solo of Yo! Ai!'s most well-known ballad.
Tears was the song that resonated once daily throughout the house ever since the single was released and Riley had acquired the CD. The reason it was well-known was the complexity of the guitar solo-it was an informal challenge amongst fans that did covers of the song to produce the most emotional response amongst their listeners.
Riley stopped playing, making Lucario crack an eye open. "Hey Lucario, do you want to hear that song I've been playing for him? The song I swore that I would perform in the hopes he would hear it?" he asked. When he got a nod of approval, he began to play a slightly more upbeat song that resonated with a sense of longing.
About halfway through the song, Lucario almost jumped up as he heard Riley gasping for air and leaning forward. The jackal reached over for an inhaler on the dresser and pushed it into Riley's hands, who mustered a "thanks" and used it promptly. He sat down again once he made sure Riley was okay.
"Sorry I worried you, Lucario. Let me start over."
The Pokemon knew that Riley wanted to become a full-fledged musician in addition to a Trainer, but his asthma severely limited his singing capabilities. Since he was incapable of singing, Riley instead wrote. He wrote lyrics, sheet music, guitar chords, and the occasional letter that he would send anonymously to the fan club, knowing that with his name and the enthusiasm that he conveyed in each letter, most would assume that he was a fangirl. Despite this, Riley wrote until he could come up with the one song that he would one day hope to perform. Lucario was even capable of feeling the raw emotion that Riley held in his heart due to the immensely strong bond they had. It was remarkable that no matter what bullying Riley had taken in the past, he had remained strong all these years.
"Hey sissy-boy. You're never gonna meet them, so just give up now!"
"Not in this life, wuss!"
Growing up was hard for the boy, as his twin sister left at the age of 12 on her own journey. As headstrong as she was, she always expressed regret that she wasn't there to help him and could only tell him with words of encouragement to never give up. As she had finally acquired her own Gym and place in the Gym Leader Association, he had to try his hardest. When Riley learned that his asthma limited his singing abilities, Lucario had to really try his hardest to pick the boy up. His mother even resorted to switching to nicotine gum as to not aggravate his asthma. They would have also moved out of the industrial port town, but his mother was a successful Daycare owner on the island.
Lucario's ears perked up and he turned to the door. He glowed with a flash of Aura, getting Riley's attention.
This was the main reason that Riley and Lucario were practically connected-this strange power that had been passed down through the family held the ability to telepathically communicate with others, to view memories, able to sense the Auras of other living beings, and projecting the energy-though that came at a cost of draining actual stamina from the body. Riley's sister also did research on Aura because of her own lack of the ability to utilize it, and had compiled a small report she sent to her brother. To summarize it, it was "a natural alignment present in all living beings. Those people who can call themselves 'Gym Leaders, Frontier Brain, Ace Trainers, Veterans, and the Champion' have a strong Aura that they've applied in their pursuit to become a skilled Trainer. However, it is only through our bloodline that we can use the power."
"Riley? There's about an hour until they start letting people in. You should probably head out now," came a female voice from the door, followed by the pattering of feet on wooden stairs.
The boy put his guitar away on the stand by the bookshelf and pulling on his shoes, tying them up haphazardly and running to his dresser, swapping out his shirt for a turtleneck. He tucked his inhaler into one of his pockets and glanced into a small mirror, tucking a gold necklace underneath of his shirt to the best of his ability.
It was a strange necklace, seemingly made of gold and the decorative part of it resembling the pattern of a Groudon's arm emblem. Not only was the pattern strange, but it sometimes stuck to his skin-at times Riley wondered if his sister sent him some artifact cursed by some supernatural being.
Lucario already had the door open, knowing full-well that Riley was impatient-something rare of him.
Once Riley was down the stairs, he grabbed a navy blue jacket and a hat styled in the image of a Honchkrow's fedora from a chair in the dining room and made it to the door before he flinched from an "ahem" on the other side of the room.
There stood a woman with cerulean-blue hair and a deadpan expression, wearing the green apron that many Daycare workers were known to adorn and her arms crossed.
"I'll send Lucario for you at 11 sharp," she told him simply, though Riley knew she was worried underneath her cold exterior. She had struggled to raise both Riley and his sister as a single mother after they turned three, and also was against her daughter leaving for Johto so long ago. She really did love her children-they were her own main motivation.
"Gotcha, I'll make sure I'm back!" Riley said, waving and dashing out the door.
"And don't faint when you see-"
The teenager's face erupted with heat and a bright shade of scarlet. "I know!" he almost screamed at her out of embarrassment. "Don't say it!"
Both Lucario and Julia smiled teasingly as Lucario closed the door, the jackal waving one last time to his Trainer.
Riley raced through the streets with vigor, almost wondering if it was real. The concert. Getting to meet his idols. The final front-row ticket he managed to snag before it was declared as 'sold out'.
Rough laughter made Riley only run faster, his trance shattered and being replaced with dread.
"Not them, I thought that they never came this way...!"
"Sneasel, stop that wuss!" a second voice called.
A Sneasel dashed in front of Riley, menacingly aiming a Slash at the ground to kick dirt up. Riley tried dashing through, only to be tripped by said Pokemon as it laughed akin to the one that gave it the command. He stood up from where he landed, coughing and feeling a throbbing sensation across his body from the impact. He froze up as two figures approached him.
"Now where could you be headed? Not the concert," the first person said with obvious maliciousness, reaching down in front of Riley and grabbing-
"My ticket..."
He had never felt so hopeless as he did awhile back, staring as paper shreds floated down in front of him. His heart literally felt like it was about to shatter, and he was trying to hold his tears back. Riley pushed himself up, his necklace slipping out from under his shirt.
"Sneasel, cut that there."
"Stop that! It was from my sister!" Riley forced out as the pristine white claws of the Pokemon came dangerously close to his neck, the teenager now paralyzed in fear as Sneasel hooked its claws around the golden pendant.
No one expected the Pokemon to let out a screech of anguish, pulling back its arm and trying to blow frigid air on its scorched claws.
"What's that, huh? Some of that freakish power? I'll beat it outta ya," the first person sneered, cracking his knuckles.
"Good luck trying to get into that concert. Worthless, your guitar playing sucks, you can't sing...and you're a wuss," the Sneasel's owner hissed as he sprayed a Burn Heal onto the scorch marks.
"Go away," Riley growled before he was kicked to the ground again, unable to hold in a gasp of pain. There was a sudden sensation that Riley didn't need here of all places. He struggled to reach into his pockets before he was kicked again.
"Body Slam!"
Riley felt the kicks subside and he opened his eyes, widening them as he saw who had issued the command.
A Torkoal stood where Riley's assaulter was before, puffing smoke from its nostrils. Standing somewhere behind the Pokemon was a redhead man carrying a guitar case whose hair was pulled back tightly into a short ponytail.
"Show them a Fire Spin!" he commanded, causing the two bullies and Sneasel to scramble before the inferno impacted them.
Riley couldn't believe it. "T-thank you...Torkoal, Buck," he managed after using his inhaler, attempting to stand up.
The guitarist reached over and pulled Riley up. "Who can stand around and watch that all happen? Lowlives," he huffed. He was a bit shorter than Riley had anticipated, but he was still strong as a Trainer.
Riley looked over at the ground, staring at the shreds that were once his ticket. "I was on the way to the concert, but...I guess that plan's out," he said bitterly, voice almost cracking.
Buck's eyes went to Riley's necklace. "Hey, hold still for a sec..." he asked, staring at it before reaching to it and lifting it up. "It's the real deal..." the redhead muttered, making Riley wonder what it was.
"My sister said it was real gold," he said, albeit awkwardly.
Buck shook his head. "That much is obvious, but I bet your sis didn't tell you all about it. Tell you what, take this and stick around at the end of the concert," Buck said, opening his guitar case and pulling out a red ticket. "Here you go," he said with a grin, handing it to the awestruck Riley. "Oh yeah, what was that those jerks said about guitar skills?" he asked, noticing that Riley was staring at the guitar.
"This is the same model I use..." Riley stammered, staring at the near-identical instrument.
"Oh, really? I wanna hear," Buck said, lifting it up and offering it to Riley along with a pick.
"I am never going to get this opportunity again..." The teenager thought as he carefully took it, examining it. He paused for a moment, trying to regain his composure. After taking a deep breath, he played Tears' guitar solo.
"Just...no, I have to do this," Buck said, taking the ticket he gave Riley and swapping it out for a golden one with a stamp marking on it. "VIP. Backstage. I still need you to stick around at the end though," he said, taking the guitar back and putting it away. "Listen, I gotta get going for rehearsal. Make sure to show that to security."
Riley stared at the slip in his shaking hand. Was he really dreaming, or did he just get bullied, rescued by one of his idols, and given a backstage pass to the concert of his life?
Hello, it's your lazy authoress Ikitsumi! In addition to all the rewrites I had planned, this one was on the list. It's so long overdue.
Please enjoy all the changes I've made after three years!