Thanks to pokemondude, A Half-Empty Glass, Flowerleaf, and DreamingStorm! Thanks to everyone else! I own nothing except for Twig and the mysterious blue haired boy!
In the morning, Roark awoke to find Shinx cuddled up against his chest. He sighed and reached for his glasses, struggling to find them. Sweet morning air wafted through the room, and Shinx stirred. The small electric type pokemon got to his feet and stretched, giving a glance in Roark's direction before hopping off of the bed. He padded to the sliding glass doors, finding that they were open instead of closed. Twig was sitting on the balcony, her pokegear in hand. She yawned and sighed as Shinx pounced into her lap.
Piplup was zonked out on the bed still, so Roark chuckled as he adjusted his glasses. His hair was a mess, so after fixing it to the best of his ability, he put his helmet back on. Twig was already dressed in an orange sweater with tan cargo pants. She continued to stare at her pokegear. Roark walked to the doors and slid them open a little further so that he could sit with her. "What's up?" he asked, as she put her pokegear in her lap. Twig sighed and looked down at Shinx who had just made a beeline for the bed where Piplup was.
"I'm thinking about calling and checking in on the peeps back in Hoenn," Twig replied, chewing her bottom lip. "Bah, forget it. I told myself not to get attached, and I did!" she muttered under her breath, getting to her feet. Roark followed suit and she shoved her pokegear back in her backpack, before zipping it up and slinging it over her shoulder. Shinx zapped Piplup awake and the two started to fight, but a stern look from Twig got them to calm down. Together the group exited the room and thanked Nurse Joy, before leaving the pokemon center altogether.
"So now we just have to head this way," Roark began, pointing in the direction of the next path, "and go through the tunnel, and we'll be in Oreburgh city." Twig nodded and the two started off, but not before a boy with spikey blue hair appeared out of nowhere and slammed into them both. He hopped up anime style, as Roark stood up and then hoisted Twig to her feet. The blue haired boy glared at them both, until he realized that he was also glaring at the gym leader of Oreburgh city.
"Hey, watch where you're going girlie," he said, turning to Roark. "Why weren't you at the gym Roark? We've been lookin' all over for you! I need to challenge you!" The kid was talking a mile a minute, and he wouldn't shut his mouth. Twig put her hands on her hips and glared back at the boy. Piplup was ready to pick a fight with the boy's Chimchar, which was sitting on his shoulder. Shinx sat silently at the side, observing the scene. Roark was about to answer when the boy interrupted him. "OK, whatever I see you're with your little girlfriend here. I'm Chariot, and you should remember that name!" he declared, turning and sprinting away.
"Do you know that kid?" Twig asked in annoyance. Roark shook his head. "So he hasn't challenged you yet?" Roark shook his head again. "Well, I'll challenge him whenever I see him again. We'll show him who's little…" Roark sighed and the two started off again. The journey was rather silent, and mostly filled with training on Piplup's and Shinx's parts. Again, Roark watched Twig's battling style. He was sizing things up to prepare himself for the battle at hand. She fared well against Byron, so she'd probably fare well against Roark, too, but he would have to wait and see how these things played out.
They reached the tunnel soon after, and Twig stared up. She hated going into caves, mines, and tunnels. She also hated going over bridges. Roark started in but he saw how hesitant Twig was. "Are you alright?" he asked, walking back to the spot she had stopped in. She nodded slowly and started forward, but stopped again. "You're afraid of tunnels, aren't you?" he asked knowingly. She nodded and gave him an apologetic yet sheepish smile. "It's alright, I'm an experienced rock type trainer, so I can protect you." Twig nodded and sighed, following Roark into the tunnel.
She stuck close to his side, while Shinx and Piplup trotted around freely, unafraid of what may lie ahead. Zubat flew overhead, occasionally ducking low enough to be seen. Twig jumped a few times, but Roark didn't even seem to be phased by them. After what seemed like an eternity, they exited the cave and Twig breathed in the fresh air of Oreburgh city. "Here it is. My home town," Roark said proudly. The two of them started for the pokemon center to get their pokemon all healed up and rested. It was around lunchtime, and Twig was extremely hungry.
"Let's get lunch," Roark suggested, after Twig's pokemon were all healed up. The brunette nodded her agreement. "But first let me check out how things are going at the mines." Twig nodded yet again and she accompanied Roark down to the mines. Machoke, Hariyama, and Machamp were carrying rocks, debris, and rubble around, and they were also pushing heavily loaded carts around as well. The workers all greeted Roark heartily, but someone laughed. Roark gasped when he saw who it was, taking the opportunity of Twig's confusion to jump in front of her.
But Twig would recognize that voice no matter where she went. "So, I see you brought the little one down to the mines," Byron laughed, approaching his son. The workers got back to their jobs, knowing that Byron and Roark hadn't been on good terms as of late. The brunette got out from behind Roark and stood next to him. "This is no place for a young girl like her," Byron said pointedly. Twig glared up at him as he looked down on her. Piplup and Shinx growled. "Where are your strong pokemon? Did they all run away because you lost the battle?"
Twig glared as Shinx prepared to defend his trainer. Piplup was about ready to pick a fight with him, too. "She's sixteen Dad, she's not a little kid. And the only reason you won was because she hasn't battled in a while. Watch! Come to the gym tomorrow and watch her battle against me! She'll demonstrate just how good of a trainer she is!" Roark said, defending Twig. Byron folded his arms across his chest and nodded. Suddenly one of the workers ran out of the mines.
"Roark!" he called, running up to the three people standing there arguing. Roark turned his attention to the worker. "There's a wild Cranidos in the mine! We can't catch it and we don't even know how it got in there!" Roark nodded and started for the entrance of the mine. Twig wanted to follow, but Byron and the worker held her back. "You'll be safer back here." Twig sighed and folded her arms across her chest. Roark came to the cave entrance and peered in. Piplup and Shinx waited with baited breath.
Suddenly a cry could be heard, and a Cranidos sprang from the shadows. However, it was gray and red instead of gray and blue, and the red was a maroon color. It snapped its jaws and Twig looked on in surprise. She loved the color of it, and she wanted it, too. Roark held his ground and waited for Cranidos to make the first move. However it was a rather smart shiny Cranidos, so it waited for Roark. Piplup, however, was eager to pick a fight, and it tried to march down there, but Shinx jumped in front of him.
Cranidos spotted the two pokemon arguing, and was immediately uninterested in Roark. It charged for his legs, knocking him over in the process and darted up for Piplup. "Crap! Are you kidding me! Fine, Piplup use bubble beam!" Twig commanded, as Shinx rolled out of the way of the bubble beam attack. It connected with Cranidos, and the small rock type pokemon snorted. "Surprised much?" she asked Cranidos. It snorted and snapped its jaws in warning. Then it proceeded to use headbutt on Piplup.
"Dodge it and tackle it! Then use bubble beam close range!" Twig ordered. Piplup nodded and moved out of the way, and the headbutt hit Twig in the legs. She was knocked off of her feet but she looked up as Piplup tackled Cranidos. Then the bubble beam attack was used and the Cranidos started to run away. "Catch it, Shinx, by using charge while you run!" Shinx nodded once and started off after the small rock type pokemon. A yellow glow surrounded Shinx and he was able to catch up to Cranidos. "Spark attack!" Twig called out. Shinx let loose a spark of electricity, but it looked more like a bolt. Cranidos was shell shocked and he hit the ground, skidding to a stop. His tough head collided with a rock and it split into pieces, falling all over him. Luckily it was a relatively small rock.
The Cranidos started to cry. Twig ran over, accompanied by Piplup. She knelt down next to him and brushed away the pieces of rubble. "Are you OK?" she asked Cranidos. The shiny pokemon looked up at her, his sharp, jagged jaw quivering. She sighed and picked him up, cradling him in her arms like a baby. "There's nothing to see here!" Twig called out, walking towards the pokemon center. She stopped. "Hey, Roark, can you show me where it is again? I don't wanna get lost…again." Roark had managed to get back to his feet, so he adjusted his now crooked helmet and glasses before nodding and heading up the hill to walk back to the pokemon center with her.
The workers just stared after them.
Roark watched as Nurse Joy handed the little pokemon back to Twig, after Joy had made sure it was all rested up. Cranidos was comfortable in Twig's arms, and Roark sighed as she came to sit next to him. "We can battle tomorrow. Are you still hungry?" Roark queried, just as the news came over the flat screen T.V. that was mounted on the wall. Before Twig could give her response, the news reporter for Sinnoh was on the screen and talking ever so loudly. Roark turned his attention away from the brunette by his side for a moment.
"Still no word on the fourth gym leader of Johto, and still no word on his daughter, eh…Twig," the reporter said, dusting invisible lint off of her shoulders. "The last she was seen, was four years ago." Twig straightened up and looked at Roark, who looked back at her with curious cordovan eyes.
"I was wrong when I said it's been four years. It's actually been five years…and it's been four and half years since I talked to him last!" Twig realized. How could she have gotten that wrong? "I lose track of everything." She held her face in her hands, keeping her emotions hidden from Roark. He patted her on the back reassuringly. She sighed and looked up at the screen.
"Twig, if you're out there, call your father," the lady on the T.V. said, in a melodramatic voice. Then the news switched to the weather and Twig was left grinding her teeth together.
"That was so fake. She doesn't even care if I speak to my father or not," Twig said, shaking her head angrily. Cranidos was asleep now. Roark nodded and looked away, smiling slightly.
"Looks like neither of us get along with our dads," he commented lightly. Twig chuckled and shook her head. "So we're in the same boat. Even though I hate boats." Twig nodded and looked up at Roark with her dark blue eyes, meeting his gaze. Cranidos shifted in Twig's arms, stirring, and finally, he got to his feet. Twig watched him curiously. "What are you thinking?" Roark asked, watching the shiny pokemon with her.
"You think I should let him go?" Twig asked. "I don't want to, but you saw how wild he was. I haven't seen a pokemon that wild since I caught my Houndour…" Roark sighed and looked at the red and gray Cranidos. It was indeed rather wild, with a wild gleam in his eyes, and he looked like he wanted to just run wild. "And I caught Houndour back when I was in Johto. That was a long time ago… Yo, Cranidos?" she called to the little rock type shiny pokemon. He looked up at her with his innocent eyes. "Do you wanna go into the wild?"
He nodded and bounced up and down in excitement. "You're really gonna let him go?"
"Yeah, even though I don't want to," Twig replied. She stood up. "Cranidos, I'll walk you to the forest, OK?" Cranidos nodded. Roark stood up and followed her out, watching as they stopped at the edge of the forest. "Alright, here we are. You can go," Twig told him, folding her arms across her chest. Cranidos looked up, and reached out with his little hand. Twig didn't understand, for she had never been any good with rock types. Roark stepped in to translate.
"He wants to say goodbye," Roark explained. Twig nodded and knelt down next to him. Cranidos reached out with his little hand and touched Twig's face before turning and bolting away. The brunette sat back and stared after the little pokemon. Roark sat down next to her and leaned back, putting his palms face down in the dirt. He sat criss cross and looked at her with his cordovan eyes. "So why'd you let it go?"
"So I wouldn't look like the perfect trainer," Twig replied. "I have one shiny already, and I plan to catch another shiny. But I'll look perfect if I keep that Cranidos, and I don't wanna look perfect." Twig sighed and met his gaze. She found it hard to stare back into his dark eyes, so she turned her dark blue ones away again. "Can we just go get lunch now?" she queried. He nodded and stood up, offering her his hand. After some hesitation and some bottom lip chewing, she reached up and took it, letting him help her to his feet.
He led her down to the mines again, where the workers were on a lunch break. A woman with cordovan hair and cordovan eyes was passing out food. "Is that your mom?" Twig asked Roark softly. He nodded and steered her to a group of workers who were sitting cross legged on the ground eating their lunches. They shifted and made their circle bigger so that Roark and Twig could sit down. Piplup hopped into Roark's lap and he cringed, given that he wasn't very fond of water or water types. Shinx growled at Piplup and Twig was forced to hold him in her lap.
"This is Twig," Roark introduced. The workers nodded towards her but didn't say much. She didn't seem too phased by this, but she wouldn't look directly at Roark. Soon the lady with the cordovan hair walked over and gave Roark something, and she spied the girl sitting there.
"Oh, who's this?" she asked, and Twig closed her eyes.
"Twig," Roark replied with a mouthful of food. The workers were all laughing and joking around with Roark, but they kind of just left Twig out. Roark's mom saw this and beckoned for the young girl to come with her. Roark didn't even say anything to this, and he didn't even look at her. Twig didn't say anything either, she just followed Roark's mom to a small house.
"Here," she said, handing Twig a sandwich. Twig took it and whispered her thanks. "Don't worry about the workers. It takes time for them to get used to you. But you won't be sticking around, will you? Because you're a trainer of course." Twig sighed and nodded, breaking her sandwich into three quarters. She gave one quarter to Piplup, and one quarter to Shinx. She ate the last quarter herself, and thanked Roark's mom two more times. "So where are you from?" Roark's mother asked.
"Johto."
"Oh, I see. Do you miss your family?"
"Not really…" Twig replied softly, glancing up at her.
"Why not?"
"I've been away for so long that I've gotten used to it," Twig replied back.
"Alright deary. Well, if you want, you can head back down to talk to Roark. I'll see you around, hopefully," Roark's mother said, turning and heading into the house. Twig turned and headed back down to the mines, but she saw how much fun that Roark's group was having without her, so she turned and started back up the hill, feeling an overwhelming sense of loneliness. She shouldn't have gotten too attached to Roark in the first place, but she had let down one of the walls that had guarded her oh so well.
A voice entered her consciousness. "So, Roark doesn't even want you, and neither do the workers. Even your father doesn't care enough to come calling for you, does he now?" Byron asked, as he stood a few feet away from her. Twig was hurt and angry that he would make such a comment, but she was so upset about everything else that she just turned away and ran off, starting to cry. Piplup and Shinx tried to stop her but she told them to leave her alone. They ran back down to get Roark.
Piplup tugged on Roark's sleeve while Shinx hopped in his lap. "What's wrong? Where's Twig?" Roark asked them. They nodded up to Byron and Roark caught on quickly. He polished off the rest of his sandwich and darted up the hill with the two little pokemon, passing his father, passing his mother, passing his house, and passing the gym. But Twig was nowhere to be found.
Meanwhile, she was just sitting in the gym arena, crying.
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