I own nothing! Enjoy! Recurring characters: Roark, Byron, Volkner, Wally, Morty, Eusine, Steven Stone, Flint, Cynthia, and the various professors. I own none of them!
"Do you promise that you'll be careful?" the blonde gym leader asked.
"Nope," the eleven year old girl responded. The blonde gym leader shook his head.
"Call and check in, alright?"
"Yeah, OK Dad," she replied. "I gotta go! The boat is leaving!"
"Alright, be careful and don't get into too much trouble!" he called after her as she sprinted to the boat.
"'Kay Dad!" she called back. The brunette waved as she said goodbye to her father.
Present Day – Five Years Later
The brunette sat on the dock, thinking back to what she had promised her father five years earlier. She had promised she would call and check in, but did she do that? No, she did not. She was now fifteen, and she was traveling from region to region to collect all of the badges. After leaving for Kanto when she was eleven, she had obtained all of the badges there. She had decided that instead of going home like her father would've wanted, she would travel to Hoenn and challenge the gyms there. And after that, she stayed in Hoenn.
Now, she was waiting for the boat to arrive that would take her to Sinnoh, so she could make her gym challenges there. She had teams for each region, except Sinnoh of course. Her Manectric sat at her side, quiet and still. "It'll be here soon buddy, and then you'll have to go and stay with Professor Elm in Johto. I'll make sure to visit you or call on you when I need you," she told her pokemon. The electric type nodded and growled a little, but it was in a friendly manner. She scratched his head and smiled. "I'll miss you, too, buddy," she told him, hugging him around the neck.
"Hey, what about us?" Brendan asked, appearing behind her. He was surrounded by a group of people. In said group were: Scott, Steven Stone, May, Norman, Caroline, and Max. Along with Brendan, that is, and Professor Birch. "You can't forget about us. You'll miss us, won't you?" The brunette stood up and nodded, going to hug May and Caroline. Scott was sniffling and he hugged her, too. Norman only came because the rest of his family had wanted to. After everyone said their goodbyes, and Manectric was in his pokeball so that Professor Birch could send him to Professor Elm, the boat arrived.
"I'll miss you guys!" she called as she headed for the boat. Before she could get two steps away, yelling was heard. She spun around to see Wally running up. He stopped and bent over, putting his hands on his knees, panting and gasping for air. After catching his breath, he looked up at the brunette. "Wally, are you OK?" she asked, resting a hand on his shoulder. The young boy blushed and nodded. "Oh, I didn't say goodbye to you! I'm so sorry!" She apologized sheepishly and gave him a hug. His face reddened even more, and he fidgeted for a moment before saying something in response.
"I wanted to go with you," Wally told her.
"Oh, you did?" she asked in shock. Wally nodded. She sighed and his face fell. "I've gotta go on my own. I'm sorry, but this is a journey I have to make by myself." Wally nodded his understanding. "I'll call, OK?" she added, but the brunette knew she probably wouldn't call at all, given as she hadn't talked to her father in three and a half years. Wally nodded, but before she could leave, he gave her a kiss. She was dumbfounded, and Wally turned around and walked to the rest of the group.
"Don't forget to call your boyfriend!" Brendan teased. The brunette's cheeks tinged pink. "Nah, I'm just joking. Chill out," he said, seeing the dangerous look in her eyes. "Bye!" Everyone waved, so the brunette turned and ran for the boat, hopping on. She waved as the boat set sail, and she was filled with a great sense of sorrow, leaving her pokemon behind again. But they were hers and Professor Elm would make sure they got back home.
"Now what pokemon am I gonna meet while in Sinnoh?" she asked out loud. When she got no answer, she sighed and chuckled to herself. "Well, I'm going to hit the hay." It was late, and the sun was setting. The brunette trotted down to find the captain of the ship, but one of the ship's sailors directed her to her quarters. She walked in and flopped down on the bed. There was a T.V., so she turned it on. There was a news piece about the fourth gym in the region of Johto. She slid onto the edge of the bed and listened intently.
"Today, many members of the Ecruteak community came upon the gym, only to find that it was closed. We talked to a local Suicune enthusiast, named Eusine, who is a close friend of the gym leader, Morty." The footage of the clip came onto the screen.
"Why do you think Morty has closed down the gym?" the male reporter asked Eusine. The brunette's stomach grew queasy, as she thought of what might've happened to her father. Eusine had a thoughtful look on his face as he thought of what might've happened. His blue eyes shifted to the camera, and then back to the reporter standing next to him.
"Well, today marks the four year anniversary of the day his daughter left on her journey to collect all the gym badges of Kanto," Eusine began. The brunette felt pangs of guilt shoot through her frame. She sighed and shook her head as Eusine continued. "He hasn't heard from her in three and a half years, so he isn't always himself." Then Eusine turned to the camera. "Hey, Twig, if you're watching, you need to either come home or call your Dad." Then a Haunter appeared and attacked the camera, causing it to go offline.
"And that was our interview with Eusine, local Suicune Enthusiast," the female anchor said. The brunette called Twig took the remote and turned the T.V. down. She sighed and slid under the covers, tossing her backpack on the floor. She'd call her father in the morning.
The next morning, Twig awoke and reached for her pokegear. She picked it up and got her father's number, and clicked the call button. After waiting, she found that no one was there to pick it up. She realized calling was probably a bad idea, so she packed her pokegear away and set out to the deck of the boat. She leaned against the railing, looking out over the ocean. When it finally came to port, there was a pause on Twig's part. After a moment of contemplation, she sighed and got off of the boat, her bag in hand. There was a huge sign that read Canalave City, so she assumed that was where she was.
The brunette sighed and pulled out a map. "If I wanna meet Professor Rowan, I have to go to Sandgem town, so I have to cross this little body of water here, head through Jubilife city, and then keep going until I come to the town of Sandgem. Alrighty then, it would help if I had a pokemon, but oh well," Twig said to herself. She sighed and walked down the street, but she came to the gym instead of the pokemon center. She sighed and stared up at it, as a boy with cordovan hair and a mining helmet appeared next to her.
"This is Byron's gym," he pointed out. "In case you're new. I've yet to see you at my gym, and I remember each of my challengers."
"Oh. What gym…do you run?" she asked, looking at him with her blue eyes. He turned to her and smiled, offering his hand. Twig took it and shook his hand firmly.
"The first gym, or the one in Oreburgh city!" he replied. "I'm Roark, by the way." Twig nodded.
"I'm Twig," she told him. He stared at her. "Yeah, it's a weird name, I know. Anyways, I'm lost. Can you show me to the pokemon center?" He nodded.
"So where are you from?" Roark queried as they walked back down the street.
"Ecruteak city in Johto," Twig replied.
"That's a long ways away from Canalave city," Roark replied. "I guess you've heard about the gym closing down?" Twig looked alarmed. "It was all over the news this morning. Nobody can find Morty, the gym leader. He even left his pokegear behind. They can't find his daughter anywhere. I forget what her name was." Twig felt uneasy as she remembered that she had tried to call her father earlier. The two walked in silence from then on. "Here we are, this is the pokemon center." She looked up and sighed.
"Well…I don't know why I'm coming here."
"Why?"
"Because I don't have any pokemon yet. All of my pokemon are back in Johto, and I have eighteen of them. Three teams for the three regions I've been to," Twig explained. Roark stared at her in shock. "Yeah, I get that look from a lot of people. Anyways, I gotta get to Sandgem town so that I can get my first pokemon of the Sinnoh region." Roark nodded thoughtfully and then took Twig by the hand, leading her back to the gym. He led her inside and took her to the fossil room.
"Hey Dad!" he called. Byron was leaning over the case of the giant Anorith fossil, but he turned around when he heard his son's voice. A smirk played upon the older man's lips as he saw Roark holding Twig's hand. Roark realized what Byron was staring at, so he dropped the brunette's hand and shook his head. "Don't you have a Piplup that you wanted to give away?" Byron nodded.
"I despise water types, so it's been sitting in the other part of the gym all alone," Byron replied. Twig, despite her grassy name, loved water types. She didn't train all water types, but she did love water types. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.
"Aww, that's no way to treat a water type!" After a moment, she added, "What the flip is a Piplup?" Roark rolled his eyes and led the young pokemon trainer to another room in the gym, where a Piplup was sitting on the table. She picked it up as it looked up at her in shock. "Aww, poor thing. I'm not a softy or anything, but water types have always been my favorites. I remember my Totodile!" She patted the Piplup. Roark led her back to the fossil room, where Byron was still admiring his collection of fossils.
"If you think you're such a great trainer," he began, "let's have a battle!"
"What? I never said that!" Twig replied. "But I won't turn down a challenge, so I'm going to go get ready! Then I'll be ready to fight! How many pokemon will we be using?"
"We will use three pokemon each! To make it easier on you, I'll tell you that I train the type of steel!" Byron told her. Then he stalked out of the room. Roark sighed and shook his head, leading Twig back to the pokemon center.
"I'm guessing you're gonna use your other pokemon?" Roark asked. Twig nodded as she made a call on her pokegear.
"Hey Professor Elm, it's me! Yup, it's Twig! I'm calling to ask for my Sandslash, Houndoom, and Breloom! Can you send them over for me? 'Kay, great! Thanks!" Twig said happily. After a few moments, she had her three pokeballs in hand. "Alright Roark, just gimme a minute. Come on and out and meet Roark!" The three pokemon popped out and looked up at the rock type gym leader before them. "We gotta fight Byron, and he uses steel types. You guys ready for our first Sinnoh battle?" The three pokemon nodded. She returned them to their pokeballs and they headed out of the pokemon center.
When they arrived at the gym, Byron was waiting. He led the two trainers to the arena where battling took place, and he got on one side, while Twig stood on the other. Roark stood in the referee's position. "I LOVE BASTIODON!" Byron shouted, sending out his Bastiodon. Twig nodded thoughtfully and pulled out a pokeball. Before she threw it, she said something.
"Hey, if I beat you, will you give me the badge?"
"Yes, but there's no chance you'll win!" Byron laughed. Twig got angry, so she threw the pokeball onto the field.
"Let's go, Sandslash!" The little pokemon uncurled itself and got down on all fours. Byron laughed heartily.
"A Sandslash? That's pathetic! Bastiodon, use ancient power!" he shouted.
"Dodge it and use dig!" Twig countered. The spike-backed pokemon burrowed beneath the dirt as the rocks rained down.
"Iron defense!" Byron commanded. Sandslash came up, hitting Bastiodon in the face. However, it barely did any damage. Sandslash moved away, scurrying back to Twig's end of the field. Twig sighed in anger. "Pitiful! Use ancient power, again!"
"Sandslash, dodge and set up for focus punch!" Twig ordered. Sandslash moved out of the way, and he began to set up.
"Bastiodon! Iron head!" Byron shouted the order.
"Focus, Sandslash, focus!" Twig shouted at her pokemon. Bastiodon was fast approaching. "Now!" Sandslash shot forward with his claw aglow, and the two pokemon collided in the middle of the field, and the blast was enough to force Twig back. She was knocked onto her butt. When the dust cleared, it revealed a fainted Sandslash and a hurt Bastiodon. "C'mon Sandslash! You did great!" she said, getting up and returning the pokemon to his pokeball.
"Pathetic!" Byron laughed. Roark shook his head. Twig clenched her fists and glared hard.
"Let's go, Houndoom!"
"Iron defense!"
"Flamethrower!" Twig commanded, and Houndoom shot forward, letting loose a huge stream of fire. It hit Bastiodon and the larger pokemon fainted, surprisingly. "Beat that, Byron!" The older man shook his head and returned Bastiodon to his pokeball.
"Come on out, Magneton!" Byron called out. The electric pokemon sent sparks flying. Houndoom sat back on his haunches and barked out a stream of laughter.
"Are you switching pokemon, Twig?" Roark asked Twig.
"'Are you switching pokemon, Twig?'" Byron asked in a girly voice, mostly to mock his son. "Bah! You make me sick to my steely stomach sometimes, Roark!" Roark rolled his eyes and ignored his father, keeping his cordovan eyes locked on the fifteen year old. She shook her head and winked. "Let's get this show on the road! Alright, use tri attack!"
"Flamethrower! But, I want you to combine it with dark pulse, thus creating the flame pulse! Crappy nickname, I know! Now use it!" Twig called out. Roark looked on in shock as a dumbfounded look crossed Byron's face. Houndoom snorted and used what energy he had to send out a flaming dark pulse, which hit Magneton and sent him crashing into Bryon.
"Were you a coordinator?" Roark queried. Twig shook her head furiously and feverishly.
"Nah, Morty uses some whacked out moves, so I kinda picked it up from him!" Twig replied, with a light shrug given. Byron jumped up as Magneton got back onto the field.
"Use thunderbolt!" he called. Houndoom was zapped with the bolt of lightning.
"Get up! Use overheat!" Twig called out.
"Thunderbolt, again!" Byron commanded. Both attacks hit, causing both pokemon to faint. "Looks like we're both down to our last pokemon," Byron commented as he returned it to its pokeball. "Let's go, Steelix!"
"Let's go, Breloom!" Twig called out. She returned Houndoom to his pokeball.
"Earthquake!" Byron called out.
"Use dynamic punch!" Twig yelled. "But jump to avoid the earthquake!" Breloom leapt into the air as the earthquake started, and he came down hard on Steelix's face. The steel type pokemon smirked at Breloom as the grass and fighting type was caught in between Steelix's teeth. "No!"
"Use ice fang!" Byron shouted out. Steelix clamped down and shook with all of his might, freezing Breloom. "Now drop it like a rag doll!" And Steelix let go. Breloom hit the ground and struggled to get up. "Iron tail, now!" Steelix came down hard, but before it could crush the Breloom beneath it, Sandslash and Houndoom came back out of their pokeballs and held the tail up so that Breloom was safe. Byron was astounded. "Iron tail them all!" he finally managed, recovering. The tail came down and the force knocked all three pokemon out.
"Breloom is unable to battle, so Byron is the winner!" Roark declared, glasses flashing. Twig darted onto the field and pushed Steelix's tail away, returning all of her injured pokemon to their pokeballs.
"Pathetic!" Byron laughed. Twig was angry – again, but she and Piplup stalked out, heading for the pokemon center. A few moments later, she stormed back in.
"Roark, I'm afraid I'll get lost again," she muttered under her breath. Roark nodded in understanding and followed her out, heading off towards the pokemon center. They left Byron to cackle to himself like the maniac he truly was.
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