100 THEMES: GHOST
Ethan was working back at his home in New Bark Town, he had come back for a few days to visit his family and friends and to catch up on some work. It had been a while since he had last been home, Marill had collapsed into an exhausted sleep and now lay curled up on his bed.
It had been good for the pair of them to take a break from their travelling, researching Pokémon behaviours in different areas was more tiring than it sounded. Turns out there's a lot of paperwork to do by having to document his findings. Finishing the final sentence ("In conclusion, it seems that Clefairy prefer to be in Goldenrod City Gym, they waggle a finger and dance energetically. Perhaps it has something to do with the shape of the gym?") Ethan clicked the save icon before arching his back into a stretch, checking the time on his Pokégear he sighed happily. The screen read 7:30PM, "Yeah! Bang on time!" He cheered, throwing a fist into the air. Marill jerked awake, opening its dark eyes blearily it tried to find the source of its disturbance. Spotting its trainer celebrating in front of his laptop the Marill grumbled, curling into blue ball, he tucked his nose behind the bubble on his tail. Ethan printed off his work, giving it a quick once over before he tucked it into a folder, heading toward the stairs he called over to Marill.
"I'm just going over to Professor Elm's lab to give him this, you going to be alright on your own for a few minutes?"
The aqua mouse gave a small snore in response, Ethan grinned to himself and tiptoed the rest of the way.
"Hey, Professor! I've got that behavioural document that you wanted, just finished and printed it so the paper's still warm." Ethan called out bursting into the laboratory.
The bespectacled Professor came to meet him, taking the documents he walked Ethan to the back of the busy lab.
"Ahh yes, yes. Thank you Ethan." Elm had the file and was skim-reading a random page. "If the rest of it is this good then you've done a very good job indeed. Here, have this Everstone as a reward." He dug a smooth, grey stone from his lab coat, handing it to Ethan with a smile. "You should use it on your Marill, I just can't picture you with an Azumarill."
Ethan thanked him happily, tucking the stone into a pocket as he turned to leave.
"Wait a moment, Ethan?" Professor Elm shut the folder, laying it on his desk. "Do you have any idea where Lyra is at the moment?"
"Sorry Professor, I haven't heard from her in a few weeks." Ethan replied apologetically . "Is there something wrong?"
"Well, no, not really. It's just that I haven't been able to get into contact with her… Professor Oak had heard she was around Route 28… but slightly more worrying though, her Mother hasn't received any word or battle winnings from her in over a fortnight."
"Lyra? Go two weeks without battling? That's unheard of…" Ethan caught Elms eye. "What do you think Professor?"
Seeing Ethan's hesitation a look of panic flashed across the Professor's still-youngish features. He was right, Lyra had never been one to pass up a Pokémon battle, and ever since she had become the Champion she was in her element, new Pokémon battles seemed to find her everyday. Always after a battle Lyra send some of her winnings back home, she had told Elm that it was a way to keep herself reassured that, no matter where in the world she was, her Mother would be okay. So there was no way Lyra would stop sending her Mother her winnings, unless…
"Ethan, do you…do you think that there's a possibility that Lyra could have been beaten?"
The younger man's face paled. "Lyra losing a battle? But, but wouldn't that mean she's no longer Champion? Does that mean that a new Champion's taken her place?"
"Calm down Ethan." Elm soothed, the other researchers were looking over. "We don't know anything for certain."
"No, we don't." Ethan sighed. Thoughts and crazy ideas ran through his head, until he came to a stop at the most plausible. "We don't know where she is, but I think I know someone who might!" Turning on his heel Ethan ran out of the lab, shouting over his shoulder before he reached the door, "I gotta make a call Professor!"
Ethan thundered up the stairs to his bedroom, not caring about the noise as he dashed toward his desk. Marill woke again, the pounding of his trainer's feet across the wooden floor had disturbed his sleep, feeling more than peeved Marill glared at Ethan from over his blue bubble tail.
The fact that Ethan hadn't noticed he had woken his partner up, and that he creating more noise by flinging files about did nothing to subside Marill's building anger. The water pokémon was starting to contemplate using its Water Gun attack when Ethan found what he was looking for. The young man began pacing, not to quietly either Marill noted, as he tried to find a number in his Pokégear.
"Come on, come on, pick up, pick up, pick up…"
Hearing the nervous tone to Ethan's voice Marill paused, stopping the Water Gun before it could get started; Instead, the Pokémon sat up to watch, ears pricking as the call-receiver answered.
"Tch….what do you want?"
"Silver! Don't hang up! This is important, listen, are you still training around the Pokémon League?"
"…I don't see what my training schedule has to do with you."
"Just answer the question!"
The red head paused, he didn't know Ethan that well, a friend of a…sort-of-friend, but what he did know was that he isn't usually snappy.
"…I'm at the Pokémon Centre at the Indigo Plateau."
"Good, you're still there! Listen Silver, you haven't seen Lyra lately, have you?"
"Yeah, I saw her about a week ago, maybe just over. Why? What's it to you?" Silver replied.
"A week? That long? Damn, it's just that no one here has heard from her in over two weeks now, we're getting worried about her." Ethan responded.
"You shouldn't be worried." Silver said through the Pokégear. "Before she left, she told me that she was heading to Mount Silver. She said that there was a rumour that the true Champion of Kanto trains at the very top, so she'll be either be off battling them or training on the mountain itself."
Ethan let a sigh of relief escape as he flopped onto his work chair, of course Lyra would be fine, he was just over reacting as usual. But something still niggled at the back of his mind.
"Silver, could you do me a huge favour?"
"You want me to go looking for her, don't you?
Ethan grinned down the Pokégear line, "You must be psychic, your Alakazam must be rubbing off on you."
Instead of some sort of retort from Silver, all Ethan got in return was the dial-tone. Looking across his room, Ethan saw that Marill was sitting up watching him intently, the aqua mouse knew something was up.
"Marill, Ma?" The Pokémon asked.
"Yeah, I bet he will. It's a bit late now though, he'll have to hang on till tomorrow to go looking for her. That'll please him…Not…But you know Marill," Ethan addressed his partner. "I'm sure there's a good guy somewhere inside him….just really deep, deep, down inside him."
The Pokémon nodded in agreement, before hopping off the bed and following Ethan back to Professor Elm's laboratory. The Professor, and her Mother, would be pleased to know that they now had a lead on their missing Champion.
It had been several minutes since Silver hung up on Ethan, so far all he had done was debate against himself, muttering darkly in the corner of the Indigo Plateau's Pokémon Centre. All the while his Pokémon team sat watching him, wondering if he had finally cracked.
"…But what if she's really hurt herself?…then her Pokémon would take care of her, There is a Pokémon Centre at the bottom of Mount Silver…What if she can't get to her Pokémon? Or if they're injured as well?…How could she even injure herself anyway?…she could fall off the mountain I suppose, she'd probably leave her Pokémon at the top and she could be laying injured and alone…"
After about half an hour of similar muttering, Silver finally snapped.
"But, what if- then…ARGHHH!" Silver hung his head in his hands. "Damn it, I'm getting soft." Looking over to his team, who were still watching him nervously, he sighed darkly. "Never mind Alakazam, Lyra must be rubbing off on me. Tch…It's too dark now. I'll have to go tomorrow…" with his mind, begrudgingly, made up, Silver returned his team to their Pokéball's and left for the warmth of his borrowed bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day…
"Please, come back any time!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…Thanks." Silver waved one-handedly over his shoulder to the Nurse Joy smiling warmly behind the counter.
A cold breeze drifted down from the mountain as Silver exited the Pokémon Centre, he turned to face the mountain looking upward in an attempt to see the summit. He would never admit this to anyone, but he had left the Indigo Plateau Pokémon Centre before dawn had even broken to search for Lyra; he checked the time on his Pokégear, it was nearing noon.
"Tch…If I hadn't been challenged by all those trainers on Victory Road I could have been halfway up there by now…Hmm?"
One of the Pokéballs at his waist began to tremble, out of it burst his Meganium, the same Pokémon that he had stolen a few years ago.
"Mega!" The Pokémon cried out as another cold wind blew down from the mountain. Silver petted it's green head as it huddled against him, the Pokémon stretched its long neck out, following the mountain to its summit hidden in the thick clouds. Meganium turned to look back at his trainer, it's large eyes reflecting Silver.
"Mega? Meganium?" It asked.
Silver's hand froze momentarily on his partners neck, "Yeah, she's up there. I'm sure of it. She'll probably be okay…but if I left her there injured or whatever then no one would battle me again."
The grass type nudged him playfully "Mega!"
"No! I'm doing this for myself! Not because I like her or anything…because I don't like her!…Not in that way!" Silver's face flushed almost as red as his hair. "I don't!" He protested as the Pokémon nudged him for again.
"Come on. We better find her…and stop that!" Silver called out, pushing away the Meganium as it made to head-butt him affectionately.
A few hours later
Silver panted slightly, climbing up that rocky patch inside the mountain was more tiring than he thought. Looking upwards he could see snow whirling higher up, "That has to be the summit…" he huffed. "After four levels of this…surely…this time."
Reaching the top of the crag, Silver stood with his hands on his hips and took a few deep breaths. The icy air stung his lungs, he turned to look through the opening in the mountainside, he couldn't see anything past the white-out of the blizzard.
"Damn it, Lyra. You better be up there…" He muttered bitterly before forcing himself out onto the summit of Mount Silver.
"Urgh…" Silver brought his arm up to his face, his mediocre defence wasn't much of a shield against the powerful blizzard when he was standing on the mountainside.
"Lyra!" He called out. "Lyra!" There was no response, the wind carried his words away.
The snow was much thicker at the summit than it been two levels down, Silver forged a pathway, almost bend double against the wind. Craning his neck against the blizzard, Silver could make out a figure on the ledge in front of him.
"Is that Lyra? It has to be…there's no one else up here…" Straining against the wind he called out again. "LYRA!" but again the blizzard ripped his words away. Forcing his way forward Silver cupped his hands around his mouth to shout out again. "LYRA!"
The figure didn't show any signs of hearing Silver's cries. The freezing red head forced his way up the small crag, ploughing through the snow until he was on the same level as the indistinguishable form. The snow wasn't so bad up here, but the icy wind still chilled his bones; at the very summit he could make out the basics of the figure, a red jacket, bunches and a squishy, marshmallow style white hat. Silver sighed with relief, which took him by surprise. He hadn't realised just how worried about the Champion he had been, but by just by the figure's hat he could tell it was Lyra, no one else would wear one like that.
Barely an arms distance from Lyra, he made to grab her shoulder, but as he reached out Lyra turned slowly to face him.
"Don't Silver…" She said softly, her words were almost swallowed by the blizzard.
Silver's hand froze in the air before him, and it wasn't because of the glacial wind. The person before him, it was Lyra, he was sure of it, but at the same time it couldn't be Lyra. Lyra's skin was never so pale, she seemed to make the falling snow around her grey. But it was her eyes that shocked Silver, they seemed so cold and lifeless, as if her very soul had frozen on the mountaintop.
"Lyra? What's happened to you?" He asked.
She didn't respond, her unseeing gaze seemed to stare right through Silver.
"Ethan phoned me, he told me everyone in New Bark Town is worried about you. Lyra, are you listening to me?"
Her eye-level dropped as he shook her shoulder lightly. "Did you find that trainer then?….Red or whatever?" Still no response. If anything, it just seemed to make Lyra worse. Her gaze dropped to the snow laden ground to the left of their feet. Suddenly a strange feeling curled in Silver's stomach. "He…he didn't beat you, did he?"
Lyra's shoulders slumped under his grip, her eyes closed sadly.
"Lyra! What's wrong with you? Did he beat you?" Silver tightened his grip on her shoulders and shook her. "Lyra! For Arceus' sake!"
"Don't Silver…" She pulled out of his grip. "Just…don't…"
Before he could speak again, Lyra put a hand up to silence him. "I think it would be better if you just went back to your training Silver."
Silver knocked her hand away from between them.
"Lyra. Tell me what happened." His tone was so stern that she looked back up at him. Dull brown meeting crimson red. "Did you lose?"
The first sign of emotion washed briefly over her face. "No, I won. I defeated Red." She said bitterly.
"Then what's the bloody problem?" Silver suddenly exploded. "Arceus! You have everyone so bloody worried about you! Your Mother, Professor Elm, Ethan, me! I came all the way up here from the Indigo Plateau just to find you! I hardly slept at all last night worrying about you-"
"Silver." Lyra interrupted. "The fact that I defeated Red is the problem."
Face as red as his hair with rage, Silver paused, trying to take in what Lyra had just said. His scarlet eyes narrowed dangerously, reminiscent of the old Silver.
"What are you on about Lyra?" He hissed.
"I defeated Red. Red…The strongest trainer in both Kanto and Johto. The only trainer stronger than the old Champion, and I defeated him."
"So what? You're the strongest trainer in our regions. What are you complaining about?"
Seeing the look of disbelief on Silver's face Lyra sighed, looking downward again. "You didn't see Red, you didn't see the look on his face when I approached him, or when he was free to finally walk away from here."
"Tch…What does how he looked have to do with this?" Silver retorted, crossing his arms against his body.
"EVERYTHING!" Lyra screamed, breaking her deadened expression for only mere moments. "It has everything to do with this Silver. When I walked up to him, the look on his face was awful…he looked so pale and drawn. He was silent, but our eyes met so we knew we would battle. But his eyes, behind his eyes he just seemed dead… like he had nothing to live for. He was…he was…Silver, he looked like a ghost. Up here, it's so isolated. Our Pokémon Battle was intense, I've never experienced anything like it before…it was worse than battling you…the only time I saw him smile was when I finally defeated him."
Silver could see tears beginning to well up in her eyes.
"Don't you get it, he only smiled after I had beaten him…that deadened look vanished like…like sunlight through a rainstorm…he told me that he was happy. He was so happy that he had beaten, because he could leave Mount Silver feeling free, all because someone had finally beaten him."
Lyra's tears slowly began to fall, leaving damp trails on her ashen face.
"I'm stuck here Silver, I've taken Red's place! That means I'm trapped until someone defeats me." With that Lyra began to sob, large pearly tears streamed down her face. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides.
Silver's mouth hung open slightly, he was about to start shouting again but when he saw Lyra's tears he couldn't bring himself to. Instead he lifted his hand gently wiped away her tears.
Lyra sniffed loudly, she looked puzzled as to why Silver had suddenly turned into a gentleman.
"It's cold." he mumbled. "Your tears might freeze…"
"You shouldn't bother…" Lyra hiccupped tearfully. "Just leave me up here. I'll be okay."
"Humph. You're such an idiot." Silver scolded. "If it's a battle you're after, then I'll battle you." he announced unclipping a Pokéball from his belt. "I'll win and take your title, once and for all."
"But then you'll have to stay up here, all alone and cold. It's horrible."
"Lyra, if you don't like it up here then why are you still here?"
"Because Red stayed and-"
Silver groaned loudly, pulling his jacket tighter around him. "Lyra, you are such an idiot. It was Red's decision to stay up here. You've been a fantastic Champion since you won the title, you can't stay up here when everyone down there needs you." Without thinking, Silver had moved forward, he took Lyra's icy hands in his own. "You don't belong up here. Come on, we'll go down to the Pokémon Centre, have a battle and something hot to eat."
Lyra opened her mouth to protest but Silver reached down to the Pokéballs at his waist again. "Don't make me use Meganium's Vine Whip to carry you down the mountain, because you know I will." The Champion smiled, a sight that made Silver feel strangely warmer against the ice-cold wind. "Alright then. But lets hurry in case I change my mind."
Silver hung his arm around Lyra's shoulders, leading her back down inside the mountain. He blushed as she wrapped her own arm around his back, leaning her head on his shoulder. "So, Silver?" She asked in a quiet voice. "Were you were worried about me?"
The red head flushed darker and pulled away from her.
"I don't know what you mean."
"Well you said everyone was worried, and you were the one who came to get me-"
"-That was because I was the closest!"
"Yeah, but when you said everyone was worried you said that you were worried as well."
"Tch…Let's just get back down this mountain and get that battle started okay!" Silver walked ahead, arms firmly at his sides.
Lyra watched him walk away, a smile blossomed on her rosying complexion.
"ARE YOU COMING OR NOT? I'm not going to drag you back down again!"
She laughed lightly behind her hand and caught up with her grumpy friend., linking her arm through his as she did so.
A/N If there are any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes please tell!
Cherry beer and writing fanfic's may not be the best mixture, especially when you're connected to the internets XD