"If I had known, I would've... Please, forgive me..."
"It's not your fault! I should've known," The pokemon calls out to his friend, but her tears are the only thing that's left as the portal closes. Gritting his teeth, he vows to finish what they have started.
"Even if it means to leave you behind." He turns away, his friend's tears dripping from his face. His eyes are blazing with fury and determination as he searches for the one pokemon who will help him.
The salty ocean carries Mana to shore, gently placing her on the warm sand. The bright sun wakes her up and she blinks a few times, trying to get a sense of where she is. She looks around, confused. What was she doing on the beach? Why can't she remember anything but her name? She turns to find a pokemon looking at her, worry filling his eyes. She cocks her head to the side, unsure of what this pokemon wants.
"I'm sorry if I woke you, but I was admiring the beach and noticed that you were here unconscious. I wanted to make sure you were okay, but…" The pokemon looks away and Mana can see his legs trembling. Is he afraid? The pokemon looks back at Mana, suddenly gaining some confidence.
"By the way, my name's Riolu. I wanted to be a guild member, but I was too frightened to join so I came here to calm down." Riolu takes a step closer and says, "But it's rare to see a cyndaquil around here. Where did you come from?" At this, Mana looks up in surprise. Wait, did he just say a cyndaquil? No that's impossible, I'm a human!
"What's wrong?" Mana ignores Riolu and checks her reflection and a cyndaquil looks back at her, showing the same panic she is now feeling. "That's impossible! I can't be a cyndaquil, I'm a human!" At this, Riolu jumps back. "A-A human? But why are you a pokemon if you're a human?" "I-I don't know, but this isn't right!" "Well, what happened?" Mana looks down, feeling depressed. "I-I don't know. I can't seem to remember anything except my name and that I was once human." "Oh. Um…well, we can try and figure this out. Here, have a look at this." Riolu takes out his treasure and lays it in front of Mana.
"This is my treasure. I found it awhile ago, but I have no idea what it is." Riolu puts away his treasure and looks down, kicking the sand with his foot. "My dream is to explore different places and find clues on what this relic thingie is. It looks like you're also-" Suddenly something smacks into Riolu from behind and he falls forward, his treasure landing on the sand.
"Well, well, well. Look who it is, the coward who couldn't even join a guild if he wanted to," Zubat says and Koffing laughs. Riolu gets up and Mana glances back and forth between Riolu and the other two pokemon, her confusion growing. What is going on?
"Give that back or I'll make you!" Riolu points his paw at Zubat and both pokemon flinch. "Uhh…I think this kid means it, Zubat." However, before anyone could react, Riolu's legs give way, and he starts shaking in fear.
"Gahahaha! You really had us going there kid! But since we know you ain't gonna stop us, we're gonna take this little treasure. Who knows? We might even give it back to you if you beg." Laughing, Zubat takes Riolu's treasure and flies off into a cave near Mana and Riolu. Koffing follows, saying, "You might as well give up on it and go home to your mommy, where it's safe." The two pokemon disappear and Riolu slumps down.
"It's no use, I can't do anything about it! They were right, I am too much of a coward to follow in after them. What should I do? I really want to get back my treasure, but to do it alone and especially when they're waiting for me?" Mana watches quietly, glancing behind her where the cave is and then turning back to look at Riolu. While it's true that she has no idea what's going on or whether or not Riolu is a good pokemon or not, the fact that his most precious item was stolen doesn't sit well for her. I feel that I should trust Riolu, but I don't know why. Even though I don't remember anything, it feels like teaming up with Riolu to get back his treasure is the right thing to do.
"I'll go with you." "W-what? B-but it's too dangerous, did you see how strong they-" "They took away your precious treasure and you're going to let them go just like that? You told me that your dream was to find clues about it, but you need to have more confidence in yourself. Come on, they can't have gone far." Mana goes after Zubat and Koffing and Riolu gulps, his body shaking. She's right, I should have more confidence in myself, but they look too strong for me to handle by myself. What if I lose and I never get back my treasure? Riolu shakes his head. No, she said that she'll help me and I've got to believe her. "W-wait up!"
No matter how many times Riolu squealed in panic, the cyndaquil was always there to protect him. At one point, a group of pokemon clustered around Riolu and Mana, each of them attacking mercilessly, but no matter how much Riolu wanted to run, the cyndaquil was right there rescuing him without delay. Finally, they reach the end and both Zubat and Koffing turn around, surprised. Zubat was the first to recover and he smirks evilly.
"Look who showed up, Koffing. We were just wondering what we were gonna do with this thing." Zubat moves aside and shows Mana and Riolu the relic thingie just lying there. Koffing lets out a rumbling giggle and says to Zubat, "We should sell this to the highest bidder. We'd be rich for sure!"
"You can't do that, that's my treasure!" "Ha! If you want this back, then you'll have to win against us…if you can that is." Riolu takes a small step back just as Mana takes a step forward, her eyes blazing with determination. Her back releases flames as she prepares to battle.
"Oh-ho, so your little friend is going to take us on, huh? Fine, then you can watch as we defeat her!" Zubat and Koffing advance on Mana, but she stands her ground. Even though the odds are against her, if she acts accordingly, then she should be able to win. Before Zubat can make a move, Mana throws a sleep seed-that she had picked up on one of the floors-at Koffing and he instantly drifts off.
"Gaah, why you-" Mana uses tackle, charging for Zubat. She hits him hard, but he only laughs. Suddenly, the strength she once had is being drained from her as Zubat uses his leech life to heal himself. Riolu watches, terrified that the cyndaquil is losing so quickly. If only he was strong and brave enough like that pokemon was, then would he be able to join the battle. Ooohhhhh, what should I do? They're too strong for us to handle! "Riolu!" Riolu looks up and sees the cynadaquil pushing against Zubat. She turns to him, her feet digging in the ground. "No matter what, I'll get back your precious treasure! Just don't give up hope!" Riolu's eyes glisten with tears. This stranger whom he just met a few moments ago is fighting so hard to get back Riolu's item and what is he doing besides moping?
"Heh, looks like you and your friend are done for." Zubat sucks more energy from Mana, but she doesn't stop her attack as she tackles him again. However, Koffing blocks her attack and she is flown backwards, already at her limit. She can't give up now, she told Riolu that she would get back his item, so if she failed… NO! I can't start thinking like that! I still have some strength left and I'm going to keep on fighting until I faint. With that, she uses smokescreen and continues her attack.
Again she is flown back and both Zubat and Koffing come out of the smoke, their smiles wide. Mana breathes heavily, her eyes not leaving them. "Heh heh, looks like it's the end for you." Mana tries and fails to get up, her body exhausted. She watches as Zubat comes at her and her eyes widen as Riolu quickly steps in to take on the attack.
"So, you came to lose with your friend. Fine then, I will send you both flying!" Zubat attacks, but Riolu uses quick attack, slamming into Zubat and he lands on the ground, unconscious. Koffing's eyes widen slightly, but he recovers and charges towards Riolu. Mana uses smokescreen to cover Riolu as he senses his opponent. Once found, Riolu uses quick attack and continues on the offensive until finally, when the smoke clears, Riolu stands in front of an almost unconscious Koffing.
"A-alright, you..you win. You can have your piece of junk back…" With that, Koffing closes his eyes in defeat. Mana walks over to Riolu, looking at Koffing. "Is he…?" Riolu shakes his head and smiles. "No, he's just sleeping." Riolu walks over to the relic thingie and picks it up. "Welcome home," he whispers to it and puts it away. Together, he and Mana walk out of the cave.
"I'm really glad you were there to help me. If it wasn't for you, I would have never gotten back my treasure, nor would I have ever fought Zubat and Koffing the way I did." Riolu turns to face Mana, the sunset reflecting his eyes. "It was because you were there that I was able to overcome my fear and fight for myself. To be honest…" He looks away for a moment. "I've always want to explore unknown places and find rare treasure, but I've come to realize that I'm too afraid to go alone. You were able to bring out something in me that I never experienced and I want to continue to experience it with you." Riolu looks back at Mana, his eyes pleading.
"A-are you…?" "Am I what?" Mana glances down and asks, "Are you trying to recruit me to be on your team?" Riolu gasps and blushes, but he responds, "Well, uhh...when you put it that way, I guess I kinda would be." He laughs nervously. "But while we look for clues about my relic thingie, we could also look for answers as to why you were turned into a pokemon and maybe your memory might come back." That's right. When I woke up on shore, I didn't know what happened or what caused this. In fact, maybe if I join up with Riolu, I can find answers about me. Mana glances up at Riolu. I have a good feeling about him, I feel like I can trust him and anyways, I wasn't really sure about what I should do. Mana smiles.
"I think it would also be fun to explore many different places and along the way, we might find the answers both of us are looking for. I would love to be partners with you." Riolu jumps in the air, yelling out, "Alright!" The cyndaquil feels his excitement rushing into her and she can't help but yell as well. Riolu grabs one of Mana's legs and shakes it, expressing his gratitude with tears in his eyes.
"Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Riolu and I hope that we can become friends in the future!" Mana nods, following his lead. "And my name is Mana and I hope that we'll always be together through the end."