(this has been published before on another account. I have republished it.)

Title: Rookie
Couple: Barry/Cynthia (FairHairedShipping)
Genre: Drama
Rating: T

Rookie
Chapter 1.

For the first time, he hated himself for winning.

His Staraptor could barely walk, its talons bloodied, feathers dropping off. It crowed its name, desperate for its master to return it. Barry obeyed its wishes, and remained standing for what seemed like hours. His opponent had fled, no savings given to the winner. Barry swallowed, shook himself sane and hurried to the nearest Pokémon Centre. He waited, fidgeting awfully whilst his Pokémon were revived. The nurse had given him a dirty look, distressed by how deformed his pocket monsters had become.

He couldn't stand waiting for long. He walked around the waiting room, then the receptionist area, went to buy a coffee, went for a damn stroll. . . nothing eased his racing mind, and it was one o' clock a.m. when the nurse stated one of his furry friends had to have surgery.

'What?' Instantly he froze.

'Well,' she said, shrugging. 'What did you expect? Your Infernape's ribs are broken, and if I don't sort out its leg, it won't walk again. If that's the case, we'll have to put it down.'

The thought of his Pokémon being sent to sleep ripped him apart. No. Infernape was his soul. 'Do the surgery,' he said. 'Do it.' The nurse nodded and turned away. 'Wait! Can I be with it–?'

'No.' She cut through him harshly. He gathered she wasn't very fond of him. 'There isn't enough room, and we don't allow trainers inside.'

'Can I watch from anywhere?'

'No.'

He looked away, upset and annoyed. How dare she fail him for his Pokémon? His Infernape needed him there! Barry couldn't stand waiting around for hours. 'He's my best friend!'

It had worked. Her expression softened dramatically. 'I–' She swallowed. 'I'm sorry. It's the rules.'

Barry exhaled slowly, unaware his left foot was tapping quickly, irritating others around him. He brushed back his hair. 'Right. How long will you be?'

'Your Infernape will need rest after its surgery. I suggest you book a room here, and visit tomorrow morning.'

He nodded. 'Fine. Where are my other Pokémon?'

'Resting. They all have serious injuries. You're lucky you gave them me when you did. If you had waited any longer, some would probably be dead.'

It was weird to think Pokémon could die, like humans. He swallowed, looked away. 'Just – okay.'

By ten o' clock in the morning, Barry was finally allowed to visit his party. All were unconscious, except for his Floatzel. Its arm was wrapped gently in a bandage, and he felt stabbed when he saw blood oozing out. It growled at him affectionately, and rubbed its head against his palm. Barry exhaled slowly, relieved. 'Sorry mate. I didn't mean to force you.' His Floatzel just wanted to be petted. Although he wasn't keen to be sitting around doing nothing, Barry sat onto the small bed and placed the large Pokémon onto his lap. Still exhausted from yesterday, his Floatzel dozed.

'Ah!'

A male doctor walked over to him.

'Your Infernape is fine. Be careful next time, okay?'

Barry hated his tone. 'Do you want me to pay?'

'No.' He sounded offended. 'I think they all deserve a treat though.'

The blonde nodded a little, ignoring him. He hated to be told what to do. What did this guy know? He was just a doctor. When he walked away, Barry pulled a face. He couldn't wait to get out of here.

'Hold on – think I have some poffins in my pocket.'

He held onto Floatzel whilst roaming in his pocket, before pulling out three poffins. He placed a blue one to Floatzel's nose. Greedily, it closed its jaws around it. 'I know you like that flavour.' He searched to see if any member of his party were awake, and found them still dozing. He felt a little empty inside. He adored Pokémon, but had never considered them to have. . . well, nerves like humans. They could be killed just as easily as he. Maybe he had been hard on them. Sometimes his determination went too far.

It had been six years since Lucas became Pokémon Champion of Sinnoh, and Barry had been trying to compete against him, desperate to receive such honour. He never succeeded. At age twenty, he was becoming harsher with his party, which would usually consequent in him rushing to a nearby Pokémon Centre. But never had he accidentally put his Pokémon in so much neglect.

"Maybe you're getting too old for it. You should try something new." Barry still hadn't forgiven Dawn for stating such catastrophe! Deep down, he felt she had a point though. He should accept he wasn't that great. Goddammit, I am though! I'm way more determined than Lucas ever was. However Lucas was gentle, understanding and much more loving than he – Lucas wasn't rushed. He had taken time to train his Pokémon, groomed them, given them treats after most battles. Made them feel happy even after they lost. Whereas Barry would blame himself severely for not training his party properly, and leap onto the next stage without a thought. Reckless.

He couldn't help it. He had his father's genes: to rush around. His father was one of the most successful trainers of his time, so why couldn't his only son follow his footsteps?

Barry couldn't sit still for much longer, so placed his Floatzel down and left the Centre.

Canalave City was empty and cold. It was nearing winter, and snow gently fell to the ground. He wrapped his coat around him firmer, walked around in circles for a bit, before resorting to the oversized library. Barry couldn't be less fascinated by books, but the library was nice and big to walk around in. He strolled to the highest floor, and scanned some of the titles in the Pokémon Healthy Diets section.

'You must be the boy who has the injured Pokémon.'

He turned to the feminine voice. There was no one there except someone behind a large Myths and Legends book. Grunting, he walked away.

'How's your Infernape?'

Barry frowned and turned to the voice again. Like before, he only noticed two hands holding a book.

'I dunno,' he muttered. 'They won't let me see it.'

Large, grey eyes peered from atop of the book. 'You sound impatient.'

'Of course I am.' He said. 'I want to get going with my training.'

She narrowed her eyes. 'That's cold. Your Pokémon need rest.'

Barry craned his neck back, growing agitated. His legs found it unbearable to be still. 'Yes, I know.'

'Really?' She chuckled. Her ghostly eyes turned back to the book. 'If you "know", then why not give them a few days rest?'

'How would you know about the importance of training?'

Finally she lowered her book to reveal herself. Barry almost choked.

'I was given the title "Pokémon Master" a few years back, but, y'know. . .'

The last time Barry had seen this person was in a newspaper three years ago. Lucas had grown stronger by the day, and now easily pummelled her. Convinced her position as Champion at the League was no longer required, she left with her party stating she would be "gone for a long time". She left Sinnoh and started to travel again. No media had caught sight of her since and her whereabouts were completely unknown. To see her like this was shocking. He only saw her in magazines and newspapers, and on them she would look tall, powerful and stunning. Seeing her in person right now was peculiar. He saw an average-looking trainer, with no big title glaring above her head.

'You look quite different.' She did. If there was one amazing trait about her, it would be her long, shining blonde hair against her black clothing. She had cut her hair so it trailed down to her chest, and her clothing no longer gave the impression of large authority. Beneath a zipped hoody, she wore a dark blouse, tucked into a grey and white checked skirt that went past her knees, and tights that were covered a little by boots. He somewhat liked her new trend, but it was alien to see her like this.

'To not be spotted so easily, I decided to dress more. . . well, less formally.' She shrugged. 'I like it though. It's nice not to be crowded by cameras and microphones and screaming fans.'

Barry lowered his eyes, knowing Lucas suffered from his fame.

'I forgot your name,' she said, politely.

'Barry. I'm Lucas' friend.'

She nodded. 'Yes, I remember.' She didn't smile.

'Have you decided to return to–'

'No.' Cynthia looked strangely disgusted. 'Don't tell anyone you saw me here. I have been recognised by a few in Sinnoh, but people forget your face when you leave the chairs of fame for a while. In Johto no one batted an eye. Strange, isn't it?'

'I suppose.'

She rose to her feet and placed her book back.

'What're you doing now?'

'I'm doing research in Cinnabar Island in Kanto. They study about mythical Pokémon, and, sometimes, are even capable of bringing them alive. That's rarely done though. I tend to go from one place to another, doing archaeology in caves and worn down buildings.'

Barry found this awfully boring. 'Rather you than me.'

She found this amusing. Her eyes drifted past him when she walked to the steps. 'I hope your Pokémon recover.' She quickly looked at his tapping foot. 'Do you have twitching problems or something?'

'No–' he stopped tapping his foot. Then realised his left eye had been twitching constantly. '–I just can't stand for very long.'

She widened her eyes a little. 'I thought I recognised your name! You must be Palmer's son.'

'Yeah.'

She squinted her eyes at him, nodded, and proceeded down. Barry followed soon after, in his hurry almost tripping. When he left the building, she was already gone. It took him a while to feel his Pokétch vibrating.

'Hello?' he said, placing it to his ear.

'Hi, where are you?'

It was Dawn. 'In Canalave. Why?' He began to walk around in a hurried pace.

'It's Lucas. He says he wants to talk to you.'

'Is he all right?'

'Um – maybe you should just see him, Barry.'

He gritted his teeth. 'I need to train my–'

'Look, will it kill you to just be still for once?'

He thought for a moment. 'Yes.'

'Barry.'

'Okay, I'll come. Give me some time though. My Pokémon are. . . resting.'

'Resting? Again?'

'Just give me a few hours. Or is this really an emergency?'

Dawn didn't answer straight away. He heard her quietly talking to someone else. Finally she spoke to him. 'Lucas can speak now, if you want.'

Barry stopped walking. 'Right.'

A second later Lucas was on the phone. He sounded exhausted and croaky. 'Hey, Barry.'

'What's up?'

'Look, I've been asking Dawn about this and she says I should have your opinion. Thing is, I'm getting tired of waiting for trainers to arrive to challenge me. The fame is too much right now, and. . . I haven't had a single day where I've been on my own.'

'What are you saying?'

'I quit, that's what I'm saying.'

'You quit being a trainer?'

'No! I mean, I quit being the League Champion.'

'You can't quit. You have to wait for someone to beat you,' Barry explained. 'Unless you let someone win.'

He heard Lucas sigh. 'I know. I was never really one for the fame. I just wanted to be a successful trainer – I'm not a camera person. Do you know how many speeches they want me to make everyday? I wonder how Cynthia had handled this.'

Barry stopped himself from saying he had just met the lost trainer. 'She didn't, buddy. She went her own way.'

'Most League Champions have departed. What happened to Lance?'

'Arceus knows.'

'I want to go my own way. Be like you.'

'You wish you were like me?'

'Yeah. Not having to worry about looking good every time you go out. Not having cameras and microphones shoved in your face. Not having screaming girls running after you, and little boys wanting your autograph.'

But that was exactly the kind of life Barry wanted. He wanted the fame and glory. To be the big guy of Sinnoh. 'Luke, you're one of the most powerful trainers in the world. How can you not want that?'

'Just because I'm powerful, it doesn't mean I need to be crowded with journalists. Red's a feared and powerful trainer – The best, and he hasn't been sighted for years. Why do all good trainers suddenly disappear like that?'

'. . . Give me the position.'

'What?'

'Make me Champion. I'm powerful and strong enough.'

'You wouldn't have the patience to stand around every day waiting for challengers.'

Barry ignored him. 'I am capable of being Champion now. I can defeat the four members of the League, it's just you. Pretend I defeated you. Then you can disappear.'

Lucas laughed. 'You've always been nuts. Let me think about this.'

That satisfied Barry.

He didn't mention the dangerous part of the job.

Lucas was sensible and calm. One of the best trainers that ever lived, but some missions he was asked to complete were fatal. Some villains were mad; delusional. Their Pokémon grew to be like their masters, and were violent and deathly towards other Pokémon. There was a band of Pokémon trainers who had been on the Wanted list for the past two years. Lucas had battled against them constantly, but their Pokémon were too aggressive.

An Arcanine had ripped Lucas' Fearow's feathers off, and had almost made the Pokémon disabled. Lucas could have defeated them easily if these "trainers" played the game right. The "rules" of battling didn't exist in their world. It was just cannibalism. They were brainwashed with evil, and Lucas had never hated an opponent like this before. He was fortunate he still had all of his Pokémon. Others still mourned over their loss.

This group of thugs enjoyed to rob, bully and murder. Their Pokémon fought against human. It was wrong. A Pokémon's moves against a human were phenomenal and dangerous. The move "crunch" had fatal symptoms: the victim would go into frenzied fits, become blind and die painfully, and that move was barely disturbing compared to others.

They made Team Galactic look sweet and cute.

It took Lucas a while to realise there was more than one pack. They were all over the place in every region that lay across the world. They had caught one man, but he died the next day from apparent shock. His Pokémon were completely rabid and were reluctantly put down. The world was cruel sometimes.

One day Lucas had been unlucky. They had targeted him at nightfall just outside the League. The bushes were so large they were perfect to hide behind. A Houndoom jumped out so quickly it frightened Lucas to the spot.

It pinned him to the ground and ripped at his clothes. Lucas punched it away, it whimpering to the side. He had no time to call for help and release his Pokémon when another two Houndooms joined the other. Lucas didn't stand a chance. His screams alerted the League members inside, and they were able to make the three Houndooms flee.

Fortunately none of the Pokémon had bitten him, but his scratches were still just as fatal. They stung and oozed puss, and he began to suffer a fever. The Pokémon Centre successfully found the correct medicine, and allowed him to rest for a few days. When he awoke, he had visitors.

Dawn was tear stained. Barry continued to gape at him.

'Hi,' he said, sitting upright slowly. His scars no longer hurt, but he dare not touch them.

The girl threw herself on him. Barry stepped closer, strangely intrigued.

'Where? What happened?'

Lucas told him as much as he could remember of the night he was attacked. Barry continued to gape at him even when he was done.

'These people should be shot,' Dawn said, receiving a snigger from the navy-haired man.

'Maybe. We need to corner them.'

Barry snatched his jacket on the end of Lucas' bed and pulled it on. Lucas cocked an eyebrow at him.

'Are you going somewhere?'

'Yes.' He said. 'Get better soon, mate.'

'Barry?. . . Barry!'

Barry remembered a site where Lucas had spotted the same group that had attacked him. There had been a knocked down building near Eterna City where some had been stationed. Whether it was still occupied, Barry didn't know.

It took him a couple of hours to find it, and was glad he had arrived during the day. He was sure at night it would look quite creepy. Part of the building had collapsed, and staircases were visible with the missing wall. Glass was shattered, and it looked deserted.

He was determined to find these thugs though. If he were to capture them, Lucas would surely give him the position as Champion.

Barry rushed inside and stopped short as soon as he entered. The floor had a large gaping hole. He rose his head to find the majority of floors had been broken away. He took a few steady steps, and, once convinced the place wouldn't collapse on him, searched in every door. There was no clue or sight of anyone, and by the time he reached the top floor, Barry felt disappointed.

'Good afternoon.'

He gasped and whipped around, clutching onto his Poké Ball. He relaxed when recognising the woman he had met in the library. She was facing the wall, and he found out why. Some foreign language had been written across the brick, and the letters looked like symbols. Silly drawings of Pokémon were graffitied across the wall as well.

'No one goes in here.' Her voice was calm. 'They say it's haunted.'

'You don't believe in ghosts?'

'Oh yes, of course. I feel protected though.' She smiled a little to him. 'Why are you here?'

He walked to a door. 'Looking for someone.'

She watched him as he opened each door on the top floor.

'I guess they're not here.' He muttered.

'What a shame. Who are you looking for?'

Barry looked at her. Did she not know? 'A group of thugs.'

Her laugh was light and almost playful. 'How good of you. What gives you the impression they're here?'

'Lucas caught them here once. I hoped they would have returned.'

Cynthia smiled. 'That'd be unlikely.'

Barry looked in each room again. 'Where could they be?'

'You shouldn't go looking for danger. It never does anyone much good.'

He smiled a little whilst he looked in the last room. He slammed the door shut, convinced it was empty. 'I love danger.'

She didn't reply instantly. '. . . You obviously haven't been in it.'

Barry turned to her, but she was focussed onto the symbolic language again, scribbling down the patterns. He was about to leave, when the front door was opened. He looked at her, but she was completely unnerved. Barry swallowed and leaned against the bannister, trying to see who had entered. He had forgotten how old this building was, and screamed when the bannister snapped and sent him plummeting to the ground. He widened his eyes when seeing how big the drop was. Shit!

He gasped when something warm and fuzzy hit his front. Barry shot his eyes open and saw. . . colourful spots. He blinked and instinctively clung onto the Pokémon's fur whilst it flew around madly, cooing its name joyfully. He soon recognised it was a Togekiss that had saved his fall. It shot upwards and, despite its out-of-control flying, landed gracefully beside Cynthia.

'Good boy.' She looked at Barry who struggled to get off the Pokémon and fell onto his back. He sat up and watched intently as she strode past him. She hadn't returned her Togekiss. It flew over him wildly, silently calling its name. Cynthia stopped at the steps.

It was agonisingly silent. Barry could hear his heart thump.

"Stay." She mouthed, as if he were a Pokémon.

He obeyed, watching her silently walk down the staircase. Her Togekiss followed pursuit. A couple of minutes ticked past.

Metal crashed against the floor. Someone had jumped in fright.

Then there was a horrible crunching noise. He heard a man shout orders to his Pokémon. Barry didn't even hear Cynthia utter a word. He couldn't sit still. Barry shot to his feet and hurried down the steps, removing a Poké Ball. Suddenly the Togekiss flew at him, making him fall back, stopping him from going onwards. He stared at the ceiling for ages, listening to the man scream and the monstrous Pokémon roar and bite.

In seconds, it was over. A Pokémon whimpered in pain and fell. The man yelped in fright, and made a muffled scream.

Barry stood. His knees felt like jelly when he proceeded down the steps.

His heart was beating so fast when he found her.

She was unharmed, as was her Garchomp that prowled around the man growling furiously. The man was pinned to the ground, a Lucario holding him down heavily using telekinesis. She turned to the younger man.

'Is this one of them?'

'I – I think so.' He couldn't believe she had wiped that man out so easily.

Cynthia nodded. 'Please call the police then. I can keep him here.' And, as calmly as ever, she sat down and waited.

Barry's hands were shaking with adrenaline so much he could barely hold his Pokétch.

When the police said they would be on their way, Cynthia didn't hesitate to depart soon afterwards. She allowed Barry to borrow her Lucario whilst he waited, and gave him her Pokétch number. He knew why she didn't want to hang around. The police would recognise her, ask her questions, make her visible to cameras again. Without a word, he nodded.

Her Lucario was surprisingly obedient to him, and happily returned to its Poké Ball when the police arrived.

Barry wanted to run and tell Lucas the news, but they kept him at the station to question. This irritated Barry so much. He had to sit and wait for ages! The waiting room was hardly big anyway, and an old man got annoyed with him when he kept walking in circles.

They finally asked him to deliver his report.

He had trouble to not mention Cynthia. He also had difficulty to stop his leg from moving up and down, as the police might take this action suspiciously. Their questions kept on coming, and he was relieved to not have been forced to mention the former Champion being there. They were happy to accept it was he who had caught the man. Whether the villain would mention Cynthia when they questioned him, Barry didn't know, but it would be a challenge for the police to find Barry anyway.

Lucas rung him fifteen minutes after the interview.

'What the Hell, Barry? You could have died!'

'Well – I'm alive,' Barry said, walking through route 209.

'. . . How? Barry, you weren't alone, were you?'

He hated to lie to his friend. However something itched in Barry's head. He could imagine the guilt he would feel if Cynthia was put in the spotlight again. She had been free for years, and it would be awful of him to reveal her. But lie to Lucas? His best friend? Barry swallowed. 'Um – No, I had help with me.'

'Who?'

'I forget the name of the person,' he said quickly. 'How are you anyway?'

'Better. I should be let out tomorrow. Barry, don't go after those thugs again. You could have been killed.'

'Okay, okay. Sorry.'

As soon as Lucas hung up, Barry searched for the woman's number. Once finding it, he felt a little odd. He felt it wasn't in his place to ring her. She was a big celebrity – or was. She picked up on the last ring.

'Barry?'

'Hi. When would you like your Lucario back?'

'You can hand him to me in Kanto. I want you to take the earliest train there, and meet me at the station in Saffron City. I found something you may find interesting.'

Something warm pulsed his body. 'Why do you want me? Why not Lucas?'

'Lucas has enough on his plate right now. Also, you'd make good company.'

Barry felt terribly flattered. He smiled nervously. 'Am I just meeting you?'

'No. There shall be others–' his heart fell, '–but I promise they won't get in your way.'

'What is it you want to show me?'

'You'll see.'

She hung up before he could say anymore. Barry couldn't believe the position he had put himself into. He was on the train in twenty minutes.