Um...Hi! And thanks for reading my story! I realize that these should go under author's notes, but, uh, I haven't figured out exactly where I'm supposed to go to that. Sorry! ^^: Before I go any farther, I wanted to say that Jun (from the prologue) is in fact based off the rival for the 4th generation games and I do not own him.
Please feel free to message me somehow and tell me.
I also don't own Roran. He belongs to my good friend shinypikachu2608 on Deviantart.
I also do not own Pokemon.
Cierra was already on the top of the deck when the ship's deep horn sounded. While the rest of the passengers going from Hoenn to Sinnoh rushed to the top of the ship, the brunette released her mudkip. The pair of them listened to the excited chatter as the landmass ahead grew larger and larger.
Finally, the boat docked. Cierra stepped off and waited for the crowd to disperse. Kippy occupied himself by barking and chasing his tail fin until the crowd was mostly gone. Cierra took this opportunity to as the captain how to get to Jublife City.
"Just go in that direction until you see a bridge," the man answered, pointing down the street, "Go across, go down, turn left, and go through the check point. You'll need a surf HM, though."
Cierra nodded and started moving in the direction he had indicated. Kippy chased his fin for a few more seconds before running after his trainer.
"Canaclave is a lot bigger than Mossdeep, huh, Kippy?" Cierra asked as her Pokémon appeared at her heels.
"Kip Kip!" The late afternoon sun was tinting the city burnt orange. Cierra walked past a parade of people, most with steelixes. A gym came into view, but she ignored it, knowing that Canaclave's was the sixth. Several people from the ship passed her in a boat, headed for a small island in the distance, and several fishermen were lounging around, watching their fish Pokémon thrash in the water. Kippy, used to seeing only wailmers and sharpedos, bounded towards a turquoise fish, but received only a hard spay in the face for his trouble.
Cierra found the bridge with relative easy, but had to wait for it to come back down after letting another group of tourists back into the city after their jaunt to Iron Island. A pair of boys was happily arguing over which of them got to train their new graveller first.
The other side of the town was a little quieter. An old inn caught Cierra's eye and she ran towards it, eagerly thinking she might be able to stay in Canaclave for the night instead of rushing on to the next town. She was disappointed to find that its door was locked and the windows were covered in dust.
"Kip?"
"Guess we've got no choice. We'll have to go to Jublife. Better hurry, though. It's getting dark."
"Mud! Kip!"
"They set off again, this time with a bit more urgency in their step. Eventually, Cierra remember the warning that she'd need a surf HM to get where she wanted to go, so when the blue-roofed Pokemart appeared in front of them, she went in.
Like most Pokemarts, it was small inside. The walls were painted off-white and one was covered in glass-fronted refrigerators. The two other costumers were milling around the sale baskets in the middle. Cierra ignored them all and walked up to the front counter.
"May I help you?" The boy at the counter couldn't have been much older than Cierra- 14 or 15 at the most. He was blond and was wearing a blue polo and combat trousers underneath his Pokemart apron. A capture stylus was at his waist.
"I'm not sure." Cierra said with a frown, "I need to get to Jublife. You have any surf HMs?"
"What?" The boy asked, his voice shaking with suppressed laughter, "An HM? What do we look like?" He finally broke down and roared with laughter.
"A place that sells things." Cierra said testily, "And I want to pay." The boy stopped laughing.
"Really? How much you got?"
"1,000 pokedollars."
"Be right back!" The boy disappeared.
"…" said Kippy and Cierra as they caught each other's eye. A few seconds later, the blond came back, grinning ear to ear. He waved a plastic bag in the air and then handed it over to her.
"Okay, one surf HM! That'll be 1,000 pokedollars."
Cierra raised an eyebrow and slid the object out of the bag. It was a silver-blue disk with a large crack in it that had been badly mended with tape. She lifted it high enough that the boy could see it.
"For this piece of crap?"
"Take it or leave it."
"I've got a better idea. Let's battle for it."
"Huh…the terms?"
"I win, you get me to Jublife."
"And if I win?"
"I give you all my money for nothing." She held out her hand.
The boy paused and surveyed the hand before grinning and shaking it.
"You've got a deal, mudkip girl."
******
It was really sun set now. The red disk on the horizon was turning the sea to blood. Cierra was leaning against a light post near the bridge, waiting for the shop boy. A small crowd of people had gathered and were looking excited at the prospect of a battle. One broke away and asked her for her name and then disappeared once more inside it.
"Yo! Mudkip girl!" The boy's voice came from above. Everyone looked up to see the blond, perched on the back of a charizard. It landed and the boy got off, grinning cockily at his opponent.
"Isn't it against the ranger code to use capture stylused Pokémon in a trainer battle?" Cierra asked coolly. The boy's smile widened. He held up a pokeball.
"Charizard here was my starter."
"Kip?!"
"Charizard."
Cierra paused. She hadn't counted on him having such a high level Pokémon. She took a deep breath and looked back at the blond. Her glasses flashed in the dimming light.
"Ready mudkip?"
"Mudkip!"
The watcher that had ask for her name ran to the space in between mudkip and charizard.
"Roran vs. Cierra- one on one battle! Begin!"
He ran out again and just in time. Almost immediately after he had left, Roran shouted:
"Charizard! Take down!" and the bulky lizard had lunged at mudkip. Mudkip tried to dodge, but failed, and was sent skidding into the crowd. Cierra winced, but there was no time to feel sorry. As mudkip stumbled back into the arena, Roran attacked again.
"Now fly!"
The enormous wings shot upwards and charizard rocketed into the sky.
"Get ready, mudkip!" Cierra cried desperately. Mudkip shook himself.
"Now, get 'im, charizard!"
"Hold on, mudkip!"
Charizard hurtled towards mudkip, whose dark eyes were filled with determination. Just as contact was about to be made, Cierra made her move:
"Jump!"
Mudkip soared into the air. Charizard turned around, but his prey was not there either.
"Zard?"
"Kip! Kip!"
Charizard turned his head. Mudkip was perched on his shoulder.
"Water gun, Mudkip!"
Charizard roared as the stream of cold water smacked his face. He thrashed about, but mudkip held on.
"How is he doing that?" Roran shouted, frustrated.
"Mud bomb." Cierra answered.
"But ground moves don't work on fire types!"
"Mudkip didn't use it on charizard. He used to glue his feet to charizard's skin." Roran frowned.
"Use the ground, charizard!"
Charizard nodded and flipped over. His back crashed into the ground, taking mudkip with it.
"Now tail whip!"
"Dodge, Kippy!"
Kippy tried, but the massive tail hit him anyway. He squealed.
"Water gun!"
Mudkip sent another steam of water at the lizard, but it dodged.
"RUN!"
Mudkip turned around and headed in the opposite direction.
"Flame thrower, Charizard!"
A steam of flame chased the smaller mudfish Pokémon down the street. Cierra breathed in and out. This was where the fact that mudkip was small made a difference.
"Dodge!" Kippy did. He leapt forward and over a bench. He ended up near a house.
"Dead end!" Roran shouted triumphantly. Kippy spun around to see the fire still coming at him.
"Are you crazy?!" Cierra shouted. Roran had no time to react. Kippy dodge and the fire hit the house. It burst into flame.
"Mudkip! Water gun!"
Mudkip turned back to the house and began dousing it with flames. In a few minutes, the fire was out.
"Roran!" A middle age man pushed through the crowd and pointed at the blond.
"Oh. Mr. Fishburn. H-How are you?" Roran stammered.
"How many times have I told you not to battle on the clock, Roran? How many times."
Roran muttered something under his breath.
"No, Roran. This is the last straw. This is the seventh house you've lit on fire in so many weeks."
"Yeah!" someone in the crowd shouted.
"But Mr. Fishbu-"
"NO, Roran. You're fired. Get out of the city."
The crowd dispersed, most pausing to shout insults at Roran. He sighed and returned his Pokémon without a word. Then he turned to leave- but found Cierra in his path.
"Where do you think you're going, Blondie?"
"Leaving." Roran said, "You heard them."
"What about our deal?"
"What about it? No one won."
"I think I win because of the simple fact I cleaned up you're mess!" Cierra snapped.
"Nope. I'm leaving now. Bye!" Roran turned to leave, but not before Cierra grabbed his ear and pulled him along behind her.
"I don't think so. Your charizard is big enough to get us all to Jublife and someone still owes me a surf HM."
With that, she dragged him out of the city, Roran muttering vehemently all the while.
