The rumble inside of the Dragon's Den was the only noise in the entire world in that very heartbeat. I stared into the darkness as I found a single form standing tall in the dim world. The salty lake below the rotting wood swirled and growled as I walked towards a boy with red hair and dark clothing, knowing very well who he was. It had taken me what had seemed like forever to find him here, but I didn't mind that. All that mattered to me was that I had found my rival once again and talk to him, just as I've done every time that I've met him. He never answered me back, no matter what I told him. I knew that it wasn't because he didn't care, or because he couldn't hear me.
He never responded to my words because he was unable to. Silver, my redheaded rival, was an Non-Playable Character. I, Lyra Soul, was one of the six Playable Characters in Johto. I could move, think, feel and do whatever I wished. He could not. He was cursed to follow a set program to every single movement. He was there but at the same time not, just as everyone else in this lonely existence of mine. Only...he was different. I knew it. There was something about him, something inside of him that made him different. Silver had a spark of life inside of him; I could see it in his gleaming eyes of silver and the energy he radiated in every battle we've ever had. Silver may be a NPC, but he was alive in there. He wasn't empty. He was there, I could tell.
My footsteps stopped as I stood behind him with my hands shaking in front of me. I had lost him for a few months to the dark abyss he was chained to. There was a place that he and other reoccurring NPCs went to when they were not required in an area. It was a world of nothingness that held them in place until they were needed, almost like be deleted from life again and again to be put in a different area. I could not follow him there; no one could willingly go there. If I faced my rival here, where would he go next? Would I banish him to that world of black again? I never wanted him to go there again. It was hard to explain it, but I was drawn to him. There was something about my rival that I could not place, something that made my thoughts jumble and focus solely on my redheaded rival. That spark in his eyes...it was hypnotic to me, ever since I first met him.
A nudge at my side reminded me of my only companion in this mess of life and programs. Meganium as well as my other Pokemon lived a life beyond the data-generated creatures who lived in the short patches of grass and the nearly non-existent Pokemon that were summoned by the hollow NPC Trainers I had faced throughout my journey. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and instantly remembered what had forced me to seek out my rival.
I, Lyra Soul, the newest Champion of Johto and one of the six PCs in this world, was on a mission to break his code.
Once I reached the Lake of Rage, I found that I was not alone in this world of self-awareness. There were only four others like me and they lived right here in Johto. My heart nearly burst as I came face-to-face with the first PC I had ever met in my life, Lance, the Champion of Johto. I had found him when I had traveled in search of a way to destroy Team Rocket. It was foolish of me to have such a strong desire to remove them. They were nothing more than NPCs and could not hurt another NPC if they tried. They had no free will. All they could do was stand there and look menacing, blurting out bitter words in a broken sort of way, lacking emotion just as everyone else. Still I felt the need to defeat them. They were programmed to seem like a threat, and so I took that as my job. It gave me something to do besides collecting meaningless symbols from robotic Gym Leaders.
Lance had appeared out of nowhere when I arrived. Previously the action would have startled me, but I had long ago grown used to the sudden entrance of countless people. I had merely turned towards him with uninterested eyes, my Meganium just as bored. A man, tall and dressed in a strange blue uniform with red hair that towered above his forehead walked up with hollow steps. I just took a breath and waited for the words he would say, knowing that he would only tell me a few things and leave.
Instead the redheaded man looked me in the eye and smiled, telling me that he was ecstatic to learn that there was another PC in Johto. I of course was amazed to find someone who could speak back to me after so long of existing with only my Pokemon to talk to. Together we headed off and destroyed the Rocket Base hidden away in Mahogany Town. When this was finished he left me with a promise, a promise that once I defeated the last Gym Leader and went to face the Elite Four, I would meet four others like us, living, breathing, thinking, feeling people with a voice and a smile and someone I could finally have a conversation with without standing there and talking to a pair of unseeing eyes.
Now I was the Champion of Johto with a knowledge that I was not the only one in this world who could feel something other than static. I had learned that NPCs are not permanent things; they can change in an instant if given enough reason. Lance himself was once a NPC with nothing more than programming before he broke his code and gained a life outside of frozen, emotionless standing. And I knew that if I tried hard enough, I could break Silver's code and let him in as a PC. That's suddenly all I really wanted out of life; I wanted someone else to talk to beside five adults. I needed someone my own age to talk to. I had no best friend; Ethan was nothing more than an NPC like the rest of them, a robot in human flesh and unable to talk to me one-on-one. I knew that I wanted to give this sort of life to someone else, and Silver was my first idea. He's different; he acts on the verge of both PC and NPC, changing, breathing, thinking, but yet still not feeling anything. He has to be in there somewhere. I just know it.
My mind whirled back to the world of the Dragon's Den as I took a reluctant step towards him and focused on the way he was staring at his Typlosion, the Volcano Pokemon just standing in place as his Trainer did. They were both frozen in place and unlike Ethan they had a chance at life outside of programming and data. Ethan was too far gone—you could see it in his broken voice and repeated Pokegear calls that he had become just as rigid as my mother or Professor Elm. Breaking him might just be impossible according to Lance. However, Karen, the most supportive of my secret plot in saving my rival, told me that those with personalities could be saved if you tried hard enough. I had to stay focused for his sake. This wasn't for me. This was for Silver.
I took only one more step and suddenly the solemn atmosphere of the Dragon's Den was shattered. My eyes found my rival turning around with a hazy recognition inside of them. If I looked hard enough, I could see myself reflected back like a mirror, the shock and fear consuming my face. Swallowing the feeling of worry down with my doubts, I narrowed my eyes and waited as my rival slowly walked over to me with calculated steps.
"Silver," I breathed. I looked him in the eye as he almost stopped in front of me, knowing that he might talk soon. "I've found you." The waterlogged planks of wood under our feet squished as Meganium stepped behind me, his eyes narrowed with judgement of my rival. He was like Lance; both the vast majority of my Pokemon and the Dragon Master himself did not like my rival. They thought of him as a harsh and bitter person. I knew better, though. They could call me whatever they wanted, but I knew that there was something more within him. He wasn't cruel. I could tell just by looking at him when he spoke the venom they spoke of. His voice was lacking conviction when he spoke of weakness in people and Pokemon. Instead, I could hear a tone of doubt. There was something else he wanted; there had to be.
My redheaded rival stopped dead in front of me with narrowed eyes. I stood tall and ignored how I felt a nervous energy in my gut swirl around. His namesake eyes seemed to stare straight through me as he stared at me, vision unfocused and eyes reflecting my own face back to me. His Typhlosion lumbered over with unseeing eyes of crimson, acting less aware than his Trainer.
"...What?" I held down a lift of hope that he might have heard what I had said. Instead, he took a breath and continued with his words. "Are you here to make fun of my training?" A flash of emotion crossed his eyes as he smirked at me, pride surfacing in those hypnotic eyes of his. "Hmph! I took my time coming all the way here, but the Master won't tell me anything, and he's making a big deal out of it... So I decided to train my Pokemon here instead." I knew that if he could move his head, he would have turned to look at the shrine next to us. However he could not and that left him to stare me in the eye. Not that I exactly minded it...
"Silver, you have to listen to me!" I felt the excitement from earlier rise in my throat as I shifted on my feet. "I've found out that you don't have to be like this! Lance told me that there's a possibility that NPCs can break their code and become PCs instead! You have to try really, really hard and focus on something with all your might, but I know you can do that!" I felt myself smiling as the muffled sound of footsteps reached my ears and Meganium turned away to stare at someone walking up to the shrine. "Karen thinks you can, too. She said that someone with a personality has a better chance! You've got a personality! That means that you—"
I was cut off by a sharp cry of greeting from my partner.
Turning my head from my rival I found Lance and Clair standing behind us, their eyes focused on us. Despite the determination in both of their gazes, I could see the cloud of absence that haunted the blue-haired woman's blue eyes. She was an NPC, just like the other Gym Leaders of Johto. Sensing the nagging feeling in my gut that told me when I was supposed to move back and trigger some sort of response, I backed away until I was standing beside my rival. His body was cold beside me, lacking the warmth that seeped out into the air that came from another PC. It was the little things like that which reminded me of what he was—and what I wanted him to be.
"Lyra," Lance grumbled. I lifted my chin as my starter shifted behind me, irritated that he was hidden away behind me and left standing beside the towering Volcano Pokemon. The past Champion of Johto nodded at me before sparing me a light, halfhearted smile. "I see you took my advice when I told you to check the Dragon's Den." I nodded as I recalled his quick suggestion to check for my rival in this cave; being an NPC once, he seemed to have an acute sense to where they tended to roam. It was almost as if he knew the programming, but that was obviously a ridiculous idea.
"Yeah," I chuckled. I turned and gave my rival a smile, watching as he blinked. He was obviously waiting for his turn to speak, just as other NPCs did when they were queued in a conversation with PCs. "When you told me to look for him here, I thought it would be worth it to come back and check if he was here. Sure enough, he was!"
Lance just nodded before standing up straight and giving me a odd look, his eyes seeming somewhat sad. "Do you know why we're here, Lyra?" I stared at him for a moment before taking a quick glance to Clair. It was certainly odd that he brought his cousin with him, especially considering that she was an NPC just as Silver was—minus the vibrancy in his eyes. Turning this over in my mind for a moment I quickly gained a guess or two.
"Are we having a Double Battle?" The words had hardly left my mouth before Lance nodded his head in confirmation. My partner Meganium took one look at the Typhlosion beside him and decided that this was a terrible idea. He knew better than anyone that our levels were vastly stronger than Silver's by now—we've always been over-leveled. I nodded slowly before brushing some of my hair behind my ear nervously. "So that's why you wanted me to come here," I chuckled. The redheaded Dragon Master just shrugged before standing a bit taller until he stood just as an NPC would, robotic and stiff.
"Hi, Lyra!" His voice echoed off of the walls as he strained his voice, making an effort to enunciate his lines to trigger this event. "And...you," he paused, his eyes shifting to my rival with noticeable bitterness. Before I could react to this he was talking again, not wasting any time. "We met at the Team Rocket hideout."
Silver rumbled beside me, his shoulders lifting with animosity. His namesake eyes gleamed with venom as he stared Lance in the face and for a fraction of a second I forgot that he was still just coding and data. "You! Where have you been all this time?" My rival's voice was an odd one compared to other NPCs. It constantly seemed to shift between fake and real; if you were not searching for it, the static noise of preselected dialogue was unnoticeable. "Prepare to lose to me this time. I challenge you!"
Lance just sighed and rolled his eyes, ignoring the fire that had erupted on Typhlosion's neck and reflected on our side of the soaked floorboards. His grey eyes then shifted to me with a bit of amusement, a half-smirk slipping on his worn features. "For the record," he muttered, "that battle he's so bitter about hardly existed. It was just a flash of data; numbers flew in front of my face and then he appeared. He sent out one Pokemon and was automatically deemed the loser to the match. It might have gone on longer if you hadn't have progressed through the hideout so fast, actually." I just shook my head and looked back to my rival, wondering just how much NPCs did when I wasn't around to see it.
Lance then put his hands out in front of him dramatically, acting as if he was holding my rival off—despite the fact that he wasn't moving. "Calm down. I was in a bit of a hurry then." He narrowed his eyes and tucked his hands back into his pockets, staring at the younger redhead blankly. "Sorry about that." If I didn't know better, he sounded sarcastic. An exaggerated smile then took over his face as he spread his arms wide. "But...I always welcome challengers!" He then turned to me with his cold grey eyes, hands slamming back to his sides. "Hey! How about a Double Battle?"
His eyes narrowed for a split second in the space between Silver standing taller to speak and Meganium shifting anxiously behind me. "I hate emphasizing those words," Lance grumbled. "I really don't see the need for them to be capitalized in the mandatory script."
Pride filled my rival's eyes as he lifted his chin higher, looking down on the past Champion of Johto. "Hmph! You can't beat me one-on-one, can you," he sneered. Lance let out a snort of dislike before sighing again and giving him a smile again.
"Come on. A Double Battle is really not that bad." He turned back to me with a noticeable quickness, acting as if he wanted to get through this stiff dialogue as soon as possible. Judging by the way he was acting and the fact that Clair hadn't spoken yet, this must event had to be one of the longer ones I've stumbled across. "Lyra, you'll be on my side!"
Speaking of Clair, it seemed this was her cue. With a violent jerk of motion the blue-haired woman stepped forward. Her feet stopped roughly in front of my rival as she gave him a quick appraisal. I watched on with irritation at this; even though she couldn't help it as she was nothing more than an NPC, I was still a bit bitter about the hissy-fit she gave me after I beat her. Clair lifted her chin to look down on my rival as he just blinked at her, staring at her with a slight narrowing of his eyes. "Well then, you over there! Will you team up with me?"
Silver let out a rough snort of disgust at this before glaring at her. "You must be kidding!" His sharp eyes seemed to look through her as Lance watched on in semi-patient boredom. "That weird one in the embarrassing costume for me?" I choked on a laugh before quickly regaining my composure. Apparently, the programming was against Clair's choice in attire, seeing as this was the second or third time it was made fun of. "No way can I battle with her," Silver shouted. He then shoved her roughly back to her starting position, seemingly startling Lance with this display.
It was my turn to be surprised when my rival turned to face me. I quickly did the same only seconds before he roughly grabbed my arm. Meganium let out a roar of fury at my rival's actions, but he knew better than to try and force him away. Manipulating or interfering with the movement of a Non-Playable Character could result in bodily harm to the person responsible—unless it's one of the NPCs who run in circles; they just run into you in a constant battle to get past you. I stared at my rival in confusion as his eyes swirled with something similar to warmth.
"Lyra! Come to my side! We'll beat Lance together!"
Taking a breath was apparently out of the question as Clair, Lance and Silver entered a battle position. Realizing that the talking was finally over, I readied myself with a smirk of confidence. Lance's eyes met mine for a split-second and I realized that he was looking wildly between myself and my rival. I just shot him a grin and motioned for my loyal partner to step forward. Meganium and Typhlosion rumbled in front of us as the floor below us squished with water. Silver seemed to stand a bit closer to me once the battle began, his body still lacking the waves of heat that slipped from a Playable Character's veins.
"Good luck, Lyra!" Lance broke character for a fraction of a second as he flung a Pokeball out in front of him. I just nodded my head and waited to see what he and his cousin had brought along with them in this surprise battle. A mighty burst of red light faded away to reveal a Dragonair and a Kingdra. It was then that I wished that perhaps that I had started with Glaceon to counter that nasty paralysis strategy of Clair's. Instead I swallowed the thought down and focused on the battle—
After I took a quick peek at what team my rival brought with him.
Ignoring the scolding eyes of the previous Champion and therefore, my boss, I leaned over and pulled up the edge of my rival's jacket to have a better look at the Pokeballs on his belt. I know it seems...odd, but it was a viable strategy in situations like this. I've done it with other Trainers in that Battle Tower place, so it wasn't that foreign to me. My eyes immediately locked on to the three Pokeballs on my rival's right side, meaning these were the ones he was going to use. I found Typhlosion's empty Pokeball, Gengar's Pokeball and—
My eyes grew wide as I found a Crobat in his lineup.
Taking this knowledge and silently relishing in it, I pulled away from my rival and tugged his jacket back into place. He didn't mind, as usual. He just stood there, waiting for me to make my first choice of attack to officially start the battle. "Sorry," I muttered before turning back to my Meganium. My rival had a Crobat. Silver, the boy who called weak Pokemon worthless and insisted on a motto of 'survival of the strongest', had a Crobat. A Pokemon that required high friendship to evolve! The smile that grew on my face didn't leave even as I called out for a Magical Leaf attack on Dragonair, hoping to at least chip it down a bit and leave it ready for an attack from my rival.
Lance and Clair were tough opponents, that much was a previously established fact. However it remained important that they fought viciously during the first round to the point that I had to switch to Glaceon and instead strike down Dragonair with an Ice Beam. Silver fought with just as much energy—if not more. Just as I knew he would, he came to life in battle. His voice was clear and precise, always shouting his order before stepping aside and watching with hungry eyes. Silver's eager energy was contagious, leading me to attack harder and neglect my hailstorm evasion strategy to just rush in and attack. Luckily for me, I was high enough in level that I had a good ten levels or more on the opponents—and my partner.
Once Dragonair fell, Kingdra followed. I beamed at Silver as he seemed to do the same, his eyes sharp and waiting for the next Pokemon to be sent out. Lance spared us a quick glance before releasing his Charizard and watching as Clair released her Dragonite. I chuckled at this before switching out Glaceon for my Milotic, knowing that Charizard wouldn't stand a chance against a Surf or Waterfall attack. Surprisingly, Silver stuck with Typhlosion for this fight even though the Volcano Pokemon had received quite a bit of damage. I just shook it off and focused on defeating Lance and Clair.
"Milotic, Surf!" I motioned for my Pokemon to hit both opponents, knowing that some damage on Clair's Dragonite was better than none. It was then that I was happy I never was a fan of the Rain Dance method—I could tell by the smaller size of this Dragon Pokemon that she was the one that knew Thunder. It was risky keeping Milotic out here with that glaring move, but the advantages from her own movepool and the move's low accuracy outweighed the problems.
Silver side-stepped beside me with a sharp focus on the battlefield, his eyes never leaving his Pokemon once. "Typhlosion, Flamethrower on Dragonite!" His eyes drifted to his opponent before flashing to me for a single heartbeat. I could see the determination gleaming in his eyes, forcing me ahead with high spirits. My Milotic roared before releasing a heavy onslaught of water against the opposite side, shoving Lance with the force and making him glare at me. I just grinned as the Volcano Pokemon summoned a harsh beam of fire that scorched the opposing Dragon Pokemon and freed the water left on her scales as thick blasts of steam. I grinned as I noticed the condition of our opponents being relatively low; we could take them out in the next turn, easy.
I turned to face my partner as Lance tried to regain his position. Silver was staring at the battlefield, waiting again for my choice. "Nice hit, Silv!" The thoughts of breaking code and becoming more than a controlled character in this world raced to my mind as I stared at his eyes. It was almost shocking; it was hard to see him as anything other than alive. Perhaps if I talked to him enough, it would give him a reason to destroy his programming and become a Playable Character. "Let's keep this up and show Lance how strong you've become—"
"You've gotten better, Lyra," Lance shouted above the sudden roar of a whirlpool below us, the lake agitated by the excess water, no doubt. I snapped my attention to him shortly after he interrupted, my eyes wide with shock. He didn't seem to notice this, for he kept on talking. "I can see that your trip to Kanto gave you quite a bit of experience. Your levels are quite astounding."
"Thank you!" I cupped my mouth with my hands to call over the rumbling water below. I then pulled back and looked to my Milotic. She was ready for the next command, her tail flicking in a silent signal. Nodding in agreement, I smirked at Lance's Charizard. "Let's see how your Charizard can hold up against another Surf attack!" My Pokemon let out a hum of laughter before narrowing her eyes at the Flame Pokemon.
Once again, Silver stepped beside me with a quick motion. He didn't look at me as he shouted out his attack—another Flamethrower on Dragonite—and returned to his spot. His namesake eyes were swirling again, lacking the clear thoughts I could see in a PC's eyes but enough of the details to show that he was proud of his last attack and that he expected this to be over quickly. Lance and Clair called out their attacks—Air Slash and Dragonbreath respectively—and watched as our moves connected with their desired opponents. Lance's Air Slash took out Silver's Typhlosion, leaving him to recall his Pokemon and wait for his chance to release his next one. While the Dragonbreath did not knock out my Milotic, it did enough damage to send her reeling backwards and gasp for air. Our efforts were well rewarded, though. Both Dragonite and Charizard were deemed unable to continue after that round, leaving most of us with a clean slate.
"Okay, switch out!" I was still barking orders, even though Silver couldn't exactly respond. Still he threw his Pokeball high and out came Gengar, floating above the wet dock and waiting for my choice. I looked between Meganium and Glaceon before deciding that my Ice Type would be a better choice against the most likely Dragon Type opponents we would have next. I hurled the capsule and grinned as my Fresh Snow Pokemon howled with pride and stood ready for action.
"Last two," Lance shouted. His eyes were narrow with strain and worry; he knew that winning was pretty impossible at this point. His cousin was the first to unclip a Pokeball and throw it into the field, releasing her Gyrados. I nearly beamed as the Dragon Master released another Dragonite; my choice of using Glaceon was the right one. The past Champion of Johto lifted his head a bit higher as he looked around his Pokemon. "This has been a short battle. I should have expected such from you after defeating seven of Kanto's Gyms in only a week."
"That's because I have Silver on my side," I boasted. I watched as his smile faded at the mention of my rival. His grey eyes snapped to the younger redhead beside me before switching back to the battle. I raised an eyebrow at this but decided against mentioning it. Instead I motioned to my partner and grinned. "But enough talk! It's about time that we finish this battle! Glaceon, throw up a Hail!"
My arrogant Eeveelution howled in delight before lifting his chin and summoning a onslaught of ice to rain from the cavern. My eyes drifted to my rival as the cold chill took hold and felt a bit of guilt at my choice. This would definitely hurt Gengar, not to mention hit my rival on the head with the stone-like projectiles. I let out a small noise of thought before smiling at a sudden idea. With a quick hand I pulled off my marshmallow-like hat and placed it upon my rival's head. I knew that his pride wouldn't exactly enjoy wearing something with a bright red bow, but it was better than having him get hit on the head constantly. My hand retreated to my side just as Silver stepped a bit closer and glared at the field.
"Gengar, use Confuse Ray on Gyrados!" I bit the inside of my lip as I noticed that we had both neglected to physically attack this turn; that might be a problem down the road. Ignoring that horrible feeling in my gut, I turned back to the fight just in time to see Clair's Pokemon shiver with confusion and look around in a fit of clouded judgement. From the safety of my rival's side—and thus far away from the thrashing Pokemon—I could see the Pokemon's eyes grow red with both rage and confusion. I didn't exactly like the idea of a confused Gyrados throwing his moves every which way, but it was better than doing nothing. Lance however did not seem too happy about his partner being confused this turn.
"Confusion?" The Dragon Master frowned before rolling his eyes. "This is why he never wins; status effects are ultimately useless against all-out offense." His glare stopped at Clair before dropping off his face, his mind quickly recalling his partner's manner of battle. "Unless you're fast enough, I suppose." He then let out a heavy breath before looking towards his Dragonite. "Dragonite, Hyper Beam on Glaceon." I held back a cringe at his choice of moves. Apparently he wasn't wasting time this turn.
Clair didn't waste any further time in finishing this turn. She stepped out with a glare and a rigid stop of the knee before pointing to my Glaceon with a stiff finger. "Thunder Wave on Glaceon!" Surprisingly, Clair's Gyrados was faster than Lance's Pokemon in executing commands. The confused Atrocious Pokemon let out a loud roar before glaring at Glaceon with blurry eyes. I stood tall as the blue Pokemon shook his tail and blasted a concentrated blast of electric energy towards my Pokemon. Luckily for me, the confusion made his aim quite sloppy. The status-causing move flew over my Fresh Snow Pokemon's head with incredible speed. However instead of crashing into something and dissipating, it raced on and headed towards me. I let out a squeak of panic before trying to move out of the way but I was too slow. The yellow energy crashed into my legs and danced around my exposed skin, piercing my body with sharp bolts of electricity that made me bite my lip to hold back a scream. I slowly looked down to find my legs rigid and immoveable, unwilling to listen to my brain and move.
"Lyra!" Lance's voice roared above the sound of his Pokemon charging his attack. The Dragon Pokemon was holding a bright white orb of light in his mouth with narrowed eyes, preparing to attack now that his turn had come up. "Lyra, move out of the way!" His voice was screaming as he motioned for me to move to my left. My throat went dry as my brain quickly raced through the scenario in my head. Dragonite would fire a powerful beam at Glaceon, the remainder of the blast would race past his small body and hit me and thanks to the hailstorm evasion bonus, there was a high chance that Dragonite would miss again. If he dodged again—
I would get hit with the full attack.
The white light suddenly gushed from Dragonite's mouth as it headed towards us. Frantic, I leaned over myself and tugged at my legs with my hands, but they wouldn't budge. I growled and screamed as my fingers only dug into my skin and socks, hardly moving my legs at all. Just how powerful was a Thunder Wave, anyway?! Lance started screaming in an attempt to cancel the move and go back, but it was too late to cancel his choice. My eyes jumped back up to see the attack rushing towards me with little regard for Glaceon's position. That sinking feeling in my chest made me realize that it wasn't very likely to hit my Pokemon. Desperate, I tried something utterly dumb.
I tried tricking the system.
"Blizzard on both targets!" I called out another move as if it was my turn, hoping that the move would cancel or something would happen to make it not hit me and perhaps kill me. Glaceon jumped at the order and charged towards the beam, his paws beating against the cold wood below. I turned my head and looked away as Lance kept screaming for Dragonite to 'cancel, cancel the move!'. With a shivering exhale I braced myself, hoping that having Playable Character status would make me immune to the attack. Abruptly, something shoved into my side and sent me falling over, forcing my legs out from under me. Snapping my eyes open I found Silver jumping into position to call his move, his eyes fixated on me and swirling with something that almost looked like panic while the bright light of the Hyper Beam lit up his face. I swallowed the burning in the throat as he snapped back to the battle and called out for a Shadow Ball on Dragonite. The glowing light engulfed everything until I could hear the attack right on top of us, hissing in the cold air of the Dragon's Den.
The world became a burst of white.
My breathing was hot and broken as I struggled against the ringing in my ears. Surprisingly, that was all that I could sense. Fluttering open my eyes I found Silver still standing in his spot, stiff and unmoving. My legs burned with hot bolts of electricity as my hands were bitten by the cold water drenching the floorboards. My redheaded rival seemed to shift for a moment before glitching, his body shaking violently for a single second as a blue glow took place among the dying white. Panic flooded my veins as I struggled to stand up, his body shivering as if he was caught in the Ice Path. "Silver!" My voice was broken and sharp in my throat as my rival slowly returned to normal, unfazed and standing as if nothing happened. My hat disappeared from his head only to zap to mine a few seconds later, returning to its proper owner. I kept trying to swallow the lump in my throat as he slowly stepped back to the right, sparing me no further glances.
"Lyra!" I pulled my eyes away from my rival and found Lance staring through the smoke with an outstretched hand and wide eyes. "Lyra, are you alright? What happened over there?!" I tried to slow down the pounding of my heart as I stared at my mentor, my mind turning the fact that my rival had stepped forward to attack even though the field was not clear over and over.
"I-I'm okay," I choked. Coughing a bit to clear my throat, I tried again. "I'm okay, Lance. I-I called out a move and then Silver stepped over and then the Hyper Beam—" I shook my head just as Lance let out a shaking exhale. "I think it hit Silver. H-He looked like he was glitching."
Lance's grey eyes narrowed on my rival before he shook his head. "He looks fine. I don't think that it hit him; Glaceon was eager to throw himself in the attack before it could hit you." The Dragon Master turned to his remorseful Pokemon as Gyrados remained perfectly still. "You calling out a move is what probably saved you." Disbelief filled my blood as he completely shoved my rival out of his focus. "The move was counted as a miss by the system and so you were able to make a choice. Continuing on as if nothing happened most likely made it disappear."
"But Lance, I know it was Silver. He—" My voice stopped as I just shut my eyes and shook my head. It was slowly occurring to me that Lance was not fond of my rival in the least. It was upsetting to see him act this way towards him. I know he remembered when I told him that I wanted Silver to break his code. Ever since then he's acted cold whenever my rival comes up. Did he hold something against him from their battle in the Rocket Headquarters? Lance ignored my sudden stop and just continued on with the battle, acting as if I had never brought up my rival in the first place.
From there it was a quick victory. It was as if Lance wanted it to end as fast as possible, even if it meant picking not-so-great attacks instead of his powerful Draco Meteor attack I knew he had somewhere on his team. The Dragon Master also seemed to mainly target my rival, seemingly against attacking me after the Hyper Beam. Glaceon ended up winning the battle for us with a powerful Blizzard that was taken as a critical on Gyrados. The opposing team retreated to the safety of their Pokeballs, leaving my Glaceon standing proudly beside a barely flying Crobat. Silver automatically returned his Pokemon, his eyes still fixated on the empty battlefield. Glaceon trotted behind me just as Lance said a few words to Clair, cuing her to respond. I slowly rose to my feet, the paralysis surprisingly gone after the battle ended, even though status effects remained after a battle. I guess whatever Lance was trying to trigger required me to be standing. Lance and Clair quickly returned to their starting positions, the blue-haired Dragon Tamer standing by the railing with Lance standing closest to the exit. Silver slowly returned to his spot next to me, his body still lacking any heat whatsoever.
Lance gave me a quick nod before standing a bit taller, his eyes dull. "Just as I expected. You two make quite a team." He took a quick breath before speaking again, his grey eyes only looking at me. "Going solo is certainly one way to aim for the top. But that's not all there is to Pokemon battle." He muttered something that sounded like a complaint of the script before sighing and finishing his lines with an obviously forced cheer. "Although I don't feel it's necessary to remind you guys. See you, Lyra, another time!" He then turned and walked away to the deck, disappearing as soon as he turned the corner.
Clair then stepped forward, her blue eyes blank and expressionless. It was just another reminder to me of the energy that Silver's eyes had captured within them to me. She and every other NPC lacked that spark that he had. "I must excuse myself." Clair's voice was sharp and choppy, another sign of a Non-Playable Character. "...Lyra, it was a fun battle." She then slowly turned to my rival, her eyes narrowing but lacking that sharpness of anger. "That goes for you too, wise guy." With those words she turned and followed Lance, disappearing in thin air only seconds after reaching the dock.
I turned to face my rival as he did the same, his eyes instantly locking on mine. Thoughts of what I wanted to tell him surged through my mind as he took a deep breath and stared at me with that shine in his eyes. "Lyra...it wasn't supposed to go this way..." His voice was not like Clair's. His voice was clear and flowing in this moment, almost as if I were talking. The only thing that gave him away was his inability to move his body while talking, even if he had impeccable facial expressions. His tone lifted as those eyes of his grew a bit larger, his glare disappearing. "Anyway, I am not giving up beating you! I'll train my Pokemon and...my own heart, too." My heart suddenly dropped as I realized that he was talking as if he was leaving. Panic filled my veins as I felt the words in my mind rush in circles and echo in my ears. I hadn't told him yet! I didn't get a chance to explain! "I'll come back as the toughest challenge for you!"
Then, without a warning, my rival turned around and starting walking away.
"Silver!" I broke character before I was meant to, reaching out and grabbing his wrist. I wasn't ready for him to walk away, not now. "Silver, wait!" His body froze in mid-step, back foot in the air and front foot digging into the soaked wooden panels. "I saw what you did in our battle, when Dragonite used Hyper Beam. You pushed me out of the way!" I ignored the words Lance said about it merely being a coincidence and blurted out my words, racing through what was running in my mind. "I know that you have a will in there, Silver! Y-You can break your code and become and Playable Character, just like me. All you have to do is focus and try and then you can—"
Glaceon suddenly let out a panicked howl from behind me. At first I checked behind me, my grip on Silver's wrist tightening as I did so. However I quickly realized that he was staring at my rival and turned back around just in time to see his arm glitch as he had in the battle, blue mixing in with his body as it quivered. The simple bit of skin in my hand suddenly burned against my palm despite the lack of heat in his body and I let go out of reflex, feeling as if I had been holding a hot coal in my hand instead of my rival. I looked up just in time to see him return to normal and continue his walk as if nothing happened.
"Silver!" My voice screamed back at me from all angles as I ran after him, my right hand now burning and shivering from holding him back. "Silver please, you have to listen to me!" His dark shoes bounced against the wooden floor as he walked away, my voice not affecting him in the least. "You can break your code!" I slowly noticed a tug against my sock and realized that Glaceon was trying to hold me back, his yips frantic and pleading. "You don't have to be a Non-Playable Character anymore. You can be free, like me! You can do whatever you want, when you want to! Please, all you have to do is—"
My rival's foot landed on the crumpled stone bridge and he suddenly disappeared from existence, called back into the black void once again.
I stopped dead with my burning hand reaching out to where he disappeared, staring blankly at the space. The tugging of my sock ceased as I just stood there. Silver was gone again. I had the perfect opportunity to break his code and finally have someone my own age to talk to and I messed it up by letting him walk away. The blistering heat in my palm slowly faded as I lowered my arm and looked away, chin pointed down to the ground and my eyes fluttering shut. All I wanted was to have my rival break his code. I wanted to hear his voice in something other than a battle. I wanted to see his brilliant spark in more than just his eyes. I wanted to hear what his laugh sounded like, or how he sounded when he did nothing more than whisper. I wanted my rival to break away from his programming and leave his life of a Non-Playable Character behind.
Most of all, I wanted him to be my friend.
Author's Note: I wanted to write something for my NPC/PC!AU again, seeing as it's so popular. This time I decided to go back in time to the famous Double Battle with Lance and Clair. This takes place around the time that Lyra first learns that it is possible to break your coding and become a Playable Character, thus gaining a will of your own. Immediately the young Champion sets out to find Silver, thinking that someone with a spark as bright as his must be close to a PC already. She of course told her plan to the Elite Four, but it didn't seem to go over well. Instead only Karen seemed supportive, with the others either ignoring her idea or claiming it to be impossible. Lyra sets out to break the news to her rival, but things don't go as planned. Instead he leaves an NPC and her with a burning reminder of what he is.
I hope this isn't as angsty as the original, haha. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this!