"Leave Me At the Roadside" A Lance Story (Part 2)
By: Halogirl3000
~Ilex Forest, Johto Region~
"Alright, I think we're done for the day." The professor said as he wiped his coat sleeve across his forehead. An infectious grin of a job well done lit his face, and he looked out into the clearing of playing Gible's with his shoulders held high.
"Finally!" Rayna cheered as she collapsed to her knees, taking her armful of papers with her. It was dramatic, but she felt she had the right to be after running and doing the professors dirty work for so many hours straight. The group had started working earlier in the day, and it was already an hour to sunset and all were getting close to exhaustion.
Lance chuckled slightly to himself from his spot kneeling by the small field lab the professor had set up. He too felt the strain of the days activities pull across his back uncomfortably. It had been quite the day for them all, what with the professor's enthusiasm and Rayna's reluctance to follow his orders. 'They are a strange duo, when together.' Lance had no choice but to admit with an amused grin. The two bickered endlessly, and he was completely surprised at how childish the professor could actually be. If it wasn't for the permanent smiles they wore through their banter, Lance would have been worried.
"Well what did you expect Rayna? This is how field studies are conducted. Everything must be recorded and analyzed." The professor responded as he took one last look at the Gible's who were retreating into the forest, most likely heading towards their nest for the night.
"Well, I'd hate for someone to think you un-thorough. '1:37:24 PM, Gible's chase each other in circles. 1:37:46 PM, Gible's trip. 1:38:05 PM, Gible's-" Rayna recited from her position on the ground, reading from one of the many papers she carried.
"Rayna that's enough!" The professor cried, waving his hands back and forth wildly. A blush covered his face as he walked towards the young woman, a frantic look to his eyes. He grabbed the paper from her hands and hid it from view. "Just give me the papers. You can start setting up camp if you are going to be nothing but difficult."
With more spirit than she had shown all day, Rayna hopped to her feet, a mischievous smile pulling at her lips. "Sounds good, Prof!" She said as she practically danced away to an unheard tune. She swiped Professor Oak's traveling pack from the ground, and walked away from the two men.
With an incredulous huff the professor moved to order the papers within his arms, shuffling them to a neat stack. Turning to the Dragon Master he made his way towards the desk set up near him.
Professor Oak pointedly ignored the smirk of mirth on the trainers face and set the papers down before him. "We made good work today. All the basics are covered, and we're all set up to continue tomorrow. Hopefully we can start to piece together how they got here and what we can do to keep them from causing conflict with the surrounding pokemon."
Lance nodded in agreement. "Overall, they seemed to act like any Gible I've ever seen. It doesn't seem as if they have a problem living in this environment. Hopefully, that might make the idea of them staying here without interfering with the surrounding pokemon viable. I can't think of how we'd begin to go about moving them."
"We'll come to that later," The professor said as he packed some of the equipment away for the night. "But I agree, it would be easiest to leave them here if the native pokemon can adapt to it."
Lance helped the professor put away his files for a short while. Since it was only the first day, there wasn't much that had been used in the observations, so it took few minutes to pack it to be used tomorrow. They took their time however, placing everything in an easily reached area where it could be accessed tomorrow. By the time they finished, and headed off in the direction of Rayna, it was already sunset.
For her part, Rayna had completed one tent, and set up a fire pit to be used as soon as all sunlight had vanished by the time both the professor and Lance came to the edge of the clearing. Humming lightly to herself she dusted her hands, looking up at their approaching figures.
"Ta-da!" Rayna shouted out in glee as she jumped to her feet, throwing her arms to the side to show off her handi-work. "One tent, and a fire pit, at your service! My best work so far, if I do say so myself!"
Professor Oak let out a hearty laugh as he walked over to the tent and poked it. "Good work Rayna. Two more tents, and then we can start on reviewing our papers of the day."
Rayna groaned slightly at the thought of going through any more files or documents that day. Even in the best of circumstances, she dreaded the tedious task with vigor, and the professors version of it was down right grueling. "Don't bother with a tent for me professor, I'll be just fine in a sleeping bag. And I'm hoping this grand plan of yours involves supper in it. One of your assistants says your grandson has been on your case for skipping your meals to work."
The professor glanced her way as he grabbed the second tent bag. "Don't tell me Gary intimidates you?" He asked with no small bit of shock. The two had met on a few occasions, but the professor had never noticed any reluctance between them. They got along well he had thought.
"Professor, he lectures you with ease. I'd prefer to keep his attention off of me, and my many shortcomings. I get enough of the long talks with you anyways." Rayna commented offhandedly as she waved away his comment with a flick of her hand.
"I'd almost like to see him try." Laughed the professor at the prospect. He could envision it in his mind's eye. Gary with his short fuse would become infuriated with Rayna and her aloofness. It grinded against the professor's own temper, and he considered his well controlled.
A grin pulled at the corner of Rayna's lips, one that spoke of trouble ensuing, and great satisfaction on her part. "You and me both. But alas, if you can manage without me, I'm pretty sure my map show's a little lake a short distance away. One I would particularly like to go check out." She took a few tentative steps backwards, towards the shadowing tree's. There was no denying the hopeful glimmer within her eyes as she glanced between her two companions. It looked almost childish.
"I think we should be able to manage. You've already set up a tent and the pit, there's not a whole lot more to do. And nothing that would require three people at least." The professor approved with a nod in her direction. That seemed to be all the consent she needed, as she turned and dashed into the forest with a shout of gratitude drifting behind her.
That seemed to be the last nail in the coffin as Lance burst into laughter within the clearing. Even without knowing the woman for very long, he could tell her personality was almost overwhelming. "Well, she took off fast." He commented as he started throwing wood into the pit. Whatever light remained after dusk was quickly dwindling, and soon they would need to light a fire to illuminate the clearing.
"Yes," Professor Oaks chuckled as well, sitting down on one of the logs that encircled the area. "I'm surprised she actually bothered to get permission to go. Usually she just leaves whenever she feels like it."
"Professor?" Lance called the man's attention with a soft tone. "Perhaps now would be a good time to talk about Team Rocket. I know it's still been on your mind since you mentioned it earlier today."
Professor Oak's eyes narrowed at the thought of the organization. He had indeed found himself thinking of them from time to time in the day, and it had seemed that Lance had noticed whenever he had become lost in thought at his growing concern. "It's hard not to think about it, Lance. I'm sure you can relate. You are more familiar with their ways and actions than most."
The comment caused the Dragon Master to carry his own look of grim acknowledgement. The professor was one of the few privileged enough to know of his excursions into the underbelly of Team Rockets operations. Unsurprisingly, he was never impressed by what he found. "Which is why I know that if you are concerned about something involving them, you should tell me. I can help with whatever it is they are after."
"I know you only want to help Lance," Professor Oak said with a grin of appreciation directed at the younger man. "But we have all week to speak of what I know, and what Team Rocket could want with it. Plus, I think that Rayna should be here when we discuss it. She may not give off the impression, but I'm certain that she will be of great assistance in this."
Lance nodded his head with an undetectable sigh. He respected the professor to much to dispute him in this, but that did little to calm his nerves.
Silence reigned in between the two men as they split to accomplish different tasks. The professor was reviewing one of his many files of the day, while Lance set about collecting enough firewood to last them through the night. With a frown he scanned the clearing, hoping for fallen branches or anything that would burn for longer then a minute. His hand ran through his red hair in agitation as he could find nothing in the dying light.
"I'm going to go get some firewood, okay professor?" Lance glanced at his distracted comrade, who gave one small nod in his direction before mumbling about something undistinguishable.
With a grin Lance shook his head in amusement, before walking off into the trees to look for some firewood.
~Ilex Forest, Johto Region~
Rayna breathed deeply as she felt a small gust of wind breeze across her figure. She couldn't keep the light smile from her face as she took in the tranquility of the lake in front of her.
She had found herself by the waters edge not long after leaving their campsite. It was a few minutes walk but it seemed like she had entered another world altogether. Stars already began to twinkle in the night sky above her, and the lake itself looked like a dark mirror of glass. The lake had a small portion of sand at its shore, before large rocks encircled the water with their imposing mass. The only disturbance was the trickling waterfall on the opposite side of lake, whose sound was the only thing that drifted through the air.
Rayna could hardly describe the feeling of calm that washed over her as she sat upon one of the larger rocks, looking out into the sky that revealed itself above her. She knew no constellations, and even if she did, she doubted she could find anything of semblance between all the stars that gleamed that night. And she rather liked the idea of it being a mass of chaos. Its mysteries eluded her, and she was soothed with the knowledge that she felt no need to seek the answers.
A splash disturbed her inner thoughts and caused her head to swerve in its direction. Her hand flew to her mouth, unable to repress the giggle that escaped her as she watched her Dewgong play within the water, disturbing the peace with an ease that didn't surprise the young trainer. One way or another all her pokemon took after their master, all were trouble makers in their own way. The thought brought an impish shine Rayna's eyes.
Another noise, one Rayna could not immediately place a source to, had her turning her body towards the sandy shore to her right. She was greeted with the figure of the Dragon Master she had just become acquainted with.
His insanely bright hair stood out with extreme clarity, even through the darkness of the night. Rayna was struck by how intense he was at that moment. He seemed to stand before her just as his legacy spoke of. His fit body was outlined with what little light the moon was giving off, making each limb move with a defining quality that almost looked otherworldly. His blue eyes were vivid in the dimness that surrounded them, and Rayna felt herself pause for a moment looking at them.
Lance had stumbled on the pool purely by accident. While searching the ground for anything flammable, he had unknowing traced Rayna's steps, and soon found himself gazing upon the scene before him.
Lance would consider himself well traveled. He had been to each of the main cities in both the Johto and Kanto region. Many were a far cry from the small little village of Blackthorn that he grew up in. He had walked the roads between those cities, seen the forests, and the beaches, the fields and suburbs, and everything else in-between. But even he had to admit, there was something new in the way all the elements came together in this place. It awed him.
He glanced over to Rayna perched on the rock. Her golden eyes flickered with curiosity at his sudden appearance, and he took a moment to scrutinize her. Her entire being had surprised him, Since meeting her earlier in the day, he realized that he couldn't read her as easily as he usually could anyone else. Her actions were completely random and at ease. The way the professor had talked of her, in such high opinion, it had let him to believe she had been more, . . . mature than she had turned out to be. He particularly couldn't figure out just why the professor wanted her involved in the Team Rocket issue. One would think you'd keep those you cared for as far away from them as possible.
With a shake of the head, Lance let his thoughts leave him. The professor trusted her, and so would he.
"Hey." Lance called to her, a smile spreading across his face.
"Hey," Rayna called back, confusion written upon her face. "What are you doing out here?" Rayna lifted herself to her feet, and stepped towards the edge of the boulder.
"Looking for firewood. There wasn't enough in the clearing for a decent fire, so I was just searching the woods for something that would burn." Lance said as he took a few steps closer to the water. Rayna nodded upon her rock, and glanced at the pile of branches that rested by his feet, abandoned in his discoveries.
"I'm sorry, I think I used most of them making the pit." Rayna apologized as she jumped from the boulder she had been on for an hour. She landed in the shallows, her bare feet sloshing through the water and sand with each footfall. Lance gave her a grin in response, watching her make her way through the sinking path.
"Dewgong!"
Rayna and Lance both jumped slightly at the unexpected call. With a chuckle Rayna glanced at her pokemon who was in the middle of a back flip further out in the lake. She could only shake her head at its antics, knowing how much her pokemon adored attention.
"Is that yours?" Lance questioned, seeing the fond gleam in Rayna's eyes.
"Yes," Rayna confirmed, her eyes trained on the white body swimming just below the surface of the lake. "She's the reason I wanted to come to the lake. I'm usually in a city somewhere, and it's hard to find a pool large enough for her to really enjoy herself in. So whenever I get the chance to I give her a few hours out of her pokeball when I'm out by any bodies of water."
From his spot beside her Lance let a soft smile cross his lips at her obvious devotion to her pokemon. Rayna noticed his small catch in breath that accompanied his observations, and frowned when she could not discern the cause.
"What?" Suspicion clung to Rayna's tone, and she couldn't help the immediate defensiveness that she felt. The chuckle he responded with did little to ease her tension.
"Nothing. At least not on the lines of what you're thinking." Lance said as he turned his head back to look at her, his face completely open and the grin apparent. "It's just that you obviously care for your pokemon. A lot of people wouldn't go out of their way just so that their water-types can be in their favorite environment. That's all."
"I see." It was practically a whisper that Rayna spoke. Her eyes scanned his face, trying to gauge where this comment was coming from. Choosing to ignore Lance's random statement, Rayna drifted further into the lake, until she was near knee-deep in the water. Within moments she found herself watching her pokemon come her way, its body raising from the lake as it became to shallow to swallow its form.
"Lance, this is Rukia." Rayna flashed a grin his way, her arm wrapped around the thick, white neck of her pokemon. It easily reached her shoulders, its sleek body sitting on the sand, that's tan color only emphasized how pure the coat was. Its large black eyes looked at the stranger with a tilt of its head, the horn shining in the moonlight, its point glinting dangerously. "Rukia, this is Lance."
Rayna was still grinning as her pokemon continued to watch Lance with fascination. Dewgong was perhaps the most curious of her pokemon, and most people it was not familiar with were opponents in battle. It wasn't often that it met new people in such a setting, so its staring was expected.
"I take it that you don't just train a specific type then?" Lance asked as he stared at Rayna's pokemon. He had seen Dewgong's before, heck he was familiar with Lorelei's back at the Indigo Plateau only too well. He had seen many of her battles with her beloved partner, it was just strange to see a different one with such a drastic change in demeanor. Lorelei's Dewgong was fierce and proud all the time, much like its trainer, he thought with a barely repressed grin. From what he had seen of this one, it was playful and inquisitive.
"No. It just never really came up. I met different pokemon and they became my partners. It seems like you have to go in being devoted to one type to become a specialist. That was just never the case with me." Rayna said as she petted the damp fur on her sea lion-esque pokemon. It started a deep throated purr, one that seemed to vibrate its entire chest cavity. Rayna giggled as she felt the waves travel up her arm, her hands rubbing it beneath the chin and stroking its spine in affection. "Is that how it was for you? I mean, you are the most well known specialist in the region"
"Kind of. My clan is devoted to dragon type pokemon, so the idea was around since I was a kid. But there's something about dragon pokemon that made me want to train them. They are so powerful. Their strength and speed in incredible. What's not to be drawn to? They're strong, loyal, dependable, and courageous." Lance listed, his words impassioned with vigor for the subject.
Rayna could not suppress a chuckle. "Yeah, and stubborn, head strong, temperamental, independent to a fault."
"Sounds like you speak from experience." Lance nodded, his head tilted in interest. His words were met with a surprised expression, Rayna's gold eyes widened as she realized she had spoken her thoughts aloud.
It took only a moment for Rayna to pull herself together. "You ever battle me Lance, and you'll find out." There was no denying the challenge in her voice, and Lance was certain that one day he would meet it. Rayna's grin of complete mirth was mirrored by one of his own, and he felt the most at ease he had for the entire day.
"Well I should be getting back with the firewood." Lance said as he started walking back to his forgotten pile a small ways away. "The professor is probably stuck in the dark by now."
Rayna's laughter followed behind him. "And yet that probably hasn't stopped him from reading his papers."
"No kidding." Lance let out a snort at the ridiculous notion. He glanced back at the green haired girl, and wondered just how long she would be staying out in the lake.
"I'll be right behind you." Rayna's amused tone came with a grin that Lance was finding went together. "I'm just going to let Rukia spend a little more time out of her pokeball, then I'll make my way to camp. No worries."
Lance gave her one parting smile, then disappeared towards the campsite. Rayna turned back to Rukia, continuing with her pampering as her Dewgong suddenly let out a happy cry, and flipped onto its back to exposed its stomach. Rayna's surprise was short lived as she burst into laughter, then followed her pokemon's wishes and started rubbing its belly.
~Ilex Forest, Johto Region~
Professor Oak let out a sigh as he took another futile glance around him. A frown marred his face as he started to grumble under his breath, directed at his two missing companions.
The dark had completely fallen in the clearing, and all that saved the professor from the surrounding night was a small flashlight, which illuminated his irritation blatantly. What he was truly most upset about, was his inability to go over his findings of the day. It really was disheartening. He had hoped to spend the night strategizing what he would do the next day. However, that seemed to be doomed to failure as he did not have enough light to even see his hand before his face without aiming the flashlight.
"Hey professor," The statement caused the professor to let out a scream of fright, then fall off his log to the ground. "Professor! Are you okay?" The flashlight had been tossed into the air in the professor's fall, and he could see nothing for moments until someone grabbed the flashlight and shined it into his face.
The professor had figured out who this person was, the voice became familiar after the initial scare of the sudden intrusion. "Lance? Where have you been?" The professor asked, still clutching his chest as his heart pounded into his palm.
Lance let out a hesitant laugh. The professor's tone had been borderline cross. "Getting firewood. I passed Rayna at the lake and she showed me her Dewgong. Sorry about taking so long."
"Just start a fire." Was all the professor could ask. With a sigh, he fumbled his way to the log, using the miniscule rays from the flashlight to guide him.
Lance let out a slightly guilty chuckle as he turned to the pit. He arranged a portion of the wood into a tepee, then pulled a lighter from his pocket and started the fire. It was slow starting at first, but within minutes it became a bonfire that illuminated the entire clearing. He set the rest of the branches beside the backpacks between himself and the professor, then sat on his own log.
"So Rayna let Rukia out then?" The professor noted, his tone much more pleasant now that he could see without being hindered by the darkness. Lance nodded, the fire flickering lights across his face at each second. "That's good. It's hard for her to find enough water to release Rukia in for a pleasure swim."
"That's what Rayna said. I was impressed with the notion." Lance responded, grinning across the fire to the professor, who smiled back.
"She surprised you?" At the nod Lance responded with, the professor could not keep the loud laughter from ringing out in the air. "Yes, Rayna's easy to underestimate. She's a talented trainer, though. Her pokemon are excellently trained, and she knows how to use their abilities with a precision that's rare. It's her attitude that masks her skill. It's hard to take someone serious when they are complaining as loudly as she does."
'There it is again.' Lance thought as he scanned the professor's face. 'That unwavering confidence in her. Where does it come from?' This woman continued to be a mystery he just could not fathom. Lance was forced from his thought as a loud, unfamiliar laughter began on the other side of the clearing. With a frown Lance bolted to stand, the professor quick to follow.
A man stood at the edge of the forest. He was tall, with blonde hair that spiked atop his head, the grew in a side mohawk to his left. A pair of shades covered his eyes, even at the late hour. Grey pants were tucked into thick soled black, combat boots, and held up by a black belt that wrapped around his toned waist. Muscled arms fell from the open sleeves of his blue muscle shirt, and opened grey, vest that bore a large trademark 'R' in bright red.
"Team Rocket." Lance glowered in the man's direction, his hand already reaching for his precious pokeball at his side.
"Lance of the Elite Four. Well, you certainly are a surprise. Why don't you just walk away, my business is not with you." The blonde man spoke, his tone deep and mocking.
"Not a chance." Lance immediately retorted. "What do you want?"
"Nothing of consequence to you. Just hand over Professor Oak, and we can all leave here without a conflict. Doesn't that sound nice?" The man took a step further into the clearing, a grin on his face and his arms open in fake sincerity.
"You're not getting the professor. Now leave before I make you." Lance threatened, taking a step to stand before the professor. His eyes were narrowed in a warning, which seemed to go ignored.
"I can't do that. We got orders from the top. The professor, is to come with us. And we are to use any means necessary to get him." At the remark, three separate vehicles drove into the clearing. All were platted in steel, and looked more like tanks than any jeep Lance had ever seen. Grunts poured in, few of them holding our their poke ball's in anticipation for a battle. The man in charge stood before them all, glaring towards the Dragon Master with intensity.
"Why do you want me?" Professor Oak asked, his tone serious, yet calm in the face of what he had been worried about.
The man turned his attention to the scientist, his face smoothing over to a look of consideration. It took few moments of hesitation before he spoke. "Don't know, and honestly don't care. It doesn't do to question orders. Trouble makers of that sort are a nuisance, and the boss doesn't tolerate it. All I know is that I am to bring you in, so you are coming with me professor."
Lance let out a growl of impatience as he allowed his reflexes to take over. He grasped his pokeball within his hand, and threw it into the space between him and his opponents. "Over my dead body." He called out, right before the intimidating form of his legendary Dragonite took shape.
"Drago-on!" The powerful pokemon roared into the night sky. Its orange body stood braced for battle, with its powerful legs grounded. It glared at those foolish enough to take on its master with dark brown eyes, the antennae's flowing in the air as its wings flapped in preparation.
"If that's how it's going to be, fine! Go Skarmary!" The leader said as he through out his own pokeball. The called pokemon shifted into existence, its metallic body lined in the light from the moon. Following their leader, the grunts sent out cry's with their own pokemon. By the end, Lance found himself facing the Skarmary, two Fearows, a Nidoking, and a Nidoqueen.
The blonde man let out a bark of laughter, looking between the two sides of the field. "Give up champion! You're out numbered!"
Lance let out a sigh of anger as his mind processed all of this. He was indeed outnumbered, but that never stopped him before. "Dragonite, use thuderwave! Scatter them!" Lance called.
The order was acted upon immediately. Dragonite let out a cry as its antennae's started to crackle with energy. Electricity shot from them, hitting the wingless pokemon and causing an explosion that kicked up a cloud of dust that surrounded the area.
The flying pokemon, were undeterred. They flew above the distraction, then dove towards the dragon pokemon with speed. Dragonite dodged one attack after another, the beaks of the opposing pokemon missing its body by inches.
"Dragonite, use dragon rage, keep them at a distance!" Dragonite seemed to take a breath before opening it's mouth and shooting the neon colored flames towards the Skarmory and Fearow's. It missed direct hits, but the intensity of the attack had the pokemon retreating to the opposite side of the battle.
Sadly, by this point the Nidos had recovered and were advancing towards the Dragonite, the king particularly loud in its battle cry. The two grunts that controlled the ground pokemon yelled out orders, that Lance could not hear in all the confusion. The two large pokemon ran at Dragonite, fully prepared to slam it into the ground with their bulk.
A wave of fire stopped them.
It burned in the space between the two forces, its heat distorting the air with its strength. Every eye in the vicinity turned to whatever newcomer was interrupting the battle. And all saw a woman with bright green hair standing beside a beast in orange, who extended its long neck and let loose a cry that seemed to shake the ground.
"Started the party without me have you?" Rayna joked, though he voice lacked any hint of humor. She walked forward staring with emotionless eyes at the group that had assembled while she was away. Her pokemon towered after her, its strong hind legs clawing the ground with exhilaration. The blue flaps of its wings extended outward as it walked, trying to impose fear into the pokemon it knew it would soon meet in battle. Its deep blue eyes traveled the scene, pivoting its horned head in one way then another to see just what it was up against. The pokemon clenched its arms, its massive tail swinging behind it.
"And just who are you?" The blonde man asked, his tone irritated at having someone unexpectedly show up to the battle.
Rayna's eyes glided to his form, taking in the red mark on his chest with a scowl. "No worries," She spoke, a calm detachment to her voice. "You'll be calling me victor in a minute." An almost sinister grin appeared upon her, one she slid into so easily it cause Lance to tense beside her.
"Rayna," Lance whispered to her. Her head notched in his direction, but her eyes never traveled from in front of her. "What are you doing?"
That did cause her to fully glance in his direction however. Her brow was furrowed in confusion. "Helping." She annunciated, as if she was unsure he could hear her.
"This is dangerous." Lance replied.
"Exctly why you need my help." Rayna stated, her voice firm and uncompromising. Lance frowned at her, prepared to argue this point until she glared at him in annoyance and cut him off. "I can handle myself. Beside's there are too many opponents, if you call another pokemon, you're going to have a battle that's too far apart to call the shots properly. And since we can't call anymore pokemon without having the battle's get in each others way because of the limited area, you're just stuck with me and Hiei."
Lance took a quick glance at who he assumed 'Hiei' was. The tall Charizard huffed impatiently at him, clearly unappreciative of being examined. With a deep breath of defeat, Lance agreed. "Fine. I'll take the Skarmory and Fearows. Dragonite and I will fly into sky and battle them there. I'll have the advantage. Can you handle the Nidoking, and Nidoqueen?"
Rayna, for her part, looked mildly insulted. "Of course. And this is good, Hiei has been glaring at the Nidoking since I let him out of his pokeball." She turned back to her opponents, taking only last glance at the stoic professor behind them both. "Stay put professor, we'll take care of this." The professor nodded in recognition.
"Are we done having a little pep talk? Some of us have a schedule to keep." The man ribbed from across the clearing, tired of all the whispering going on.
"Well we'd hate for you to be late." Rayna fired back, her face lined in a fierce annoyance. She walked over to one side of the clearing, away from Lance and his tactics. "Hiei, lets get started."
The Charizard let out a triumphant cry, then beat its wings once to gain momentum as it shot towards the Nidoking.
"Dragonite," Lance called and ran up to his pokemon. The dragon turned to its trainer, watching with sudden soft eyes as he approached it. "We're taking this to the sky." Was all the communication Lance needed. With an almost human nod of the head, the pokemon lowered itself slightly so its trainer could jump upon its back. It swung its wings, bringing it higher and higher into the sky as it called back to its opponents, daring them to try to catch it.
Rayna glanced once more at Lance and his Dragonite. With a small smile she saw them take off, followed closely by the three bird-like pokemon Lance designated as theirs to fight. Quickly she brought herself back to her own fight, watching as Hiei instinctively dodged a double kick the Nidoqueen had sent as him.
"Hiei, use slash, and follow it up with flamethrower point blank!" Rayna commanded, watching as her Charizard used it strong legs to lung into the surprised Nidoqueen. It clawed at the chest plate, making spark fly when it connected. Then fire spewed from Hiei's throat, and Nidoqueen let out a cry of pain as the hot flames made contact with its face.
A loud shout or rage escaped the Nidoking at the sight. It stomped forward, it's mouth open in a poison sting attack that shot forward to Hiei. The Charizard swiftly sprung away, its wings assisting in its speed as the attack whizzed safely by. With impressive flexibility the fire pokemon spinned itself around, sending a fame burst at the attacking pokemon.
Nidoking flew to the side just in time to avoid the attack. It stood between Hiei and the Nidoqueen, protective of the fallen pokemon. Hiei let out a small ball of fire as it seemed to scoff at the opposing pokemon, its competitive streak rearing.
"Hiei, circle above it and use wing attack." Rayna called from behind her pokemon. She watched as its wings thrashed against the air, taking it into the sky as it seemed to gloat at the flightless pokemon with a fanged grin.
Hiei's speed in the sky was impressive. It had just enough space to circle with a sense of leisure, one that caused Rayna to shake her head at her pokemon. It was a prideful pokemon, but it was also her most trusted partner, despite its large sense of self worth.
Charizard's speed increased till it was almost a blur against the dark sky. It sped past Nidoking multiple times, hitting it with its hammer like wings, then lifting back into a spin around for another hit. Nidoking let out a roar of frustration, trying to swipe as the pokemon passed, but Hiei was too quick to be caught. With a viscous cry, it braced itself, then seemed to catch Hiei's wings when he came around again.
Hiei cried out in pain when the Nidoking flung it into the ground, its body gauging out some of the earth and the power in the throw send it a few feet.
Rayna let out a breath of concern, looking upon her fallen pokemon with worry. She took a step forward, fully prepared to run out into the midst's of the fight to aide her precious friend. On step in and Hiei had flung his head up, roaring angrily in the Nidoking's direction. It pushed itself up, returning to its feet and sent a vicious fire blast at the purple pokemon.
"Hiei, finish it with a sky drop!" Rayna directed. Hiei jerked its head in a single nod, then shot towards the injured Nidoking. It grabbed below its arms, wrenching the part poison type into the air and bringing it into the sky. The Charizard passed the treetops, beating its large wings in obvious effort to lift the equally large pokemon into greater heights. But Charizard was determined, and that made him fight all the harder to follow through with Rayna's command. When it deemed it high enough, Hiei spun himself, then used the added energy to fling the Nidoking towards the ground.
The impact made the difficulty worth it. The Nidoking slammed into the earth, creating a crater within the clearing and shooting up gravel and dirt in every direction. Rayna turned from the landing, shielding her eyes from the debris as she felt the ground beneath jump at the collision.
With a grin she watched Hiei return to her side, its breath labored, but in relatively good condition. She threw her arms around his head as he lowered it for her convenience, giving him a hug as she always did when he made it back to her after a battle. "Good job Hiei! You did great!"
Hiei let out a rumble of happiness, as if unsurprised. Rayna drew back, and looked at the unmoving Nidoking and Nidoqueen that were still in the clearing. She was shaken by two more impacts into the ground. Hiei tensed beside her, ready to grab his trainer and take her into the sky if danger presented itself. It did not take its role of her protector lightly.
The forms of the two Fearows greeted them. They too unconscious as the results of their battle. The flapping of wings alerted Rayna to Lance's return, and the Dragonite landed in the clearing lightly.
Lance jumped from his position on his pokemon back, taking a quick glance around and then turned to the standing Rayna and Charizard. "You okay?" He asked, his tone strict, but concern bled through at the very end.
Rayna replied with a nod. "Yeah, how about you and Dragonite?"
"We're fine. We stayed ahead of most of their attacks before hitting them from afar." Lance explained, a frown marring his face. "Where is Team Rocket?"
Rayna let out a sigh of disappointment as he mentioned the unsettling question that had been plaguing her since Hiei landed. "I don't know. There was a blast of dirt and they all just vanished. I couldn't see through it."
"They left their pokemon." Lance commented, sounding furious in the hiss he released with it. Rayna flinched as she tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, extremely uneasy.
"Charz-ar." Hiei called from a small ways off. Rayna and Lance looked towards him, and froze in horrow at what it was he had discovered. In his claws, hung Professor Oak's lab coat.
Without any professor in sight.
Ramblings of an Author: Well, here is part 2! Hope you all enjoyed it! I tried to make it as epic as posible, but for some reason everything but the battle was super difficult for me to write. To the point of being pathetic really. It took me two hours to write one page of dialogue between Lance and Rayna. Two hours for like, maybe 300 words! That's very bad. But oh well, I hope that I got their conversation to be at least decent. It went a lot better in my head, but hey, they only just met. It's believable for things to be as awkward as I(unintentionally) wrote them out to be! :)
On another topic, I owe a few thanks you's to some awesome people out there! Special thanks to Jess Readin, jennku, and Farla for being the first three to review my story, however those reviews came out! :)
Brelaina also gets a special thank you for some amazing support that I am extremely greatful for. And everyone who has favorited, or put the story on their alert's. I appreciate all the support, however you feel like showing it! So remember to review or message or anything of the sort. They really do help me with my writing, and I can't even begin to explain how much they mean to get them.
And just incase the name's of the pokemon are confusing, here's the best annunciating I got, good luck interpretating.
Crobat- Byakuya (Bee-a-koo-ya)
Dewgong- Rukia (Roo-key-a)
Charizard- Hiei (He-aye)
And if it interests you, I have a link to a picture of Rayna, and her trainer card on my homepage. It's under the Leave Me At the Roadside portion of the page, it shouldn't be too hard to find. And if you want a sneak peak at Rayna's yet to be introduced pokemon, check it out! I worked for two minutes on it! And prop's to anyone who can figure out which Team Rocket member I was using as the big bad for this part, I had completely forgotten about the guys existance until I had to look up someone to use. :)