Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. On with the show!


"Hah! I knew it. Let's get out of here, Gold." The pair of thugs chortled as they walked past, satisfied that they had gotten their way.


Chapter 4 – Practice

She shot a glare at their retreating figures, tears and hysteria forgotten. What jerks, she thought. Bullying people for the sake of bullying is just sad.

"W-what am I gonna do?"

She turned her attention to the trembling voice. Liro was sitting on the sand, appearing to be on the brink of tears. His voice shook and Yumemi had the feeling he'd forgotten he wasn't alone.

"That…it didn't look like much, but…" He ran a hand through his hair, jaw trembling in sorrow. "It…it was my precious treasure. Without it, I…"

He buried his face in the crook of his arm, crying and looking fairly miserable. Yumemi felt a stab of righteousness go through her and she shook his shoulder. "You're going to get it back."

He looked at her, surprised at her comment. "What?"

"You're getting it back." She stood up and harshly tugged him up with her. He stumbled onto his feet and once he was up she began to drag him to the cave the bullies had entered. "You're going to march in there and demand they give it back to you."

"But, I can't do that!" He protested.

"Why not?" She countered. Before he could argue, she said, "Its precious, isn't it?" His mouth shut and he nodded. She pointed to the cave. "Then go and get it. They didn't even look that strong, so I'm sure you could beat them."

He still looked hesitant. He glanced at the cave. At her. Then at the cave again.

"Will you…" He licked his lips. "Will you come with me?"

"Me?" She said incredulously.

"Well, yeah. I've never been into Beach Cave before, so I'm not sure how strong the Pokémon inside are. I figure it's better to be in a pair then alone, right? So, will you come with me?"

"Oh. I…I don't know how useful I would be. I've never been in a battle before." She told him, but he apparently wouldn't be dissuaded once he got an idea in his head.

"No, it'll be great! I'll show you how to do it and we'll watch each other's backs." Seeing she was about to protest, he tried again. "Please. I don't think I can go in there alone, and I don't know who else to turn to."

He looked at her with a pleading, determined expression. With puffy red eyes and tear-tracks still etched down his cheeks, he didn't look like much. But Yumemi knew she looked even worse when he found her and he still helped her. Liro was the one to reach her through the abyss and give her the strength to open her eyes once again. If he needed her now, who was she to deny him?

She nodded and he whooped, a big smile illuminating his face. "Alright! Let's go then!" He led the way into the recesses of the cave, seeming far more chipper now that he had a companion.

Yumemi quickly realised that the cave was huge. It was ridiculous! There was path after path, floor after floor and Yumemi was sure they would end up lost, though Liro seemed more than confident. Every ten minutes or so, they would encounter a Pokémon. Some ignored them, but more often than not the pair was assaulted. Liro led the counterattacks with Quick Attack and taught her how to use her own move, Tackle. It was all in the name. She tackled her opponent head on and hoped for the best, which was normally all that was needed.

In the few hours it took to reach the bottom floor, Yumemi had no time at all to think about her circumstances. If she became too distracted, an enemy would get the jump on her, scratching and 'biting' her with ghostly, phantom teeth and all too real claws. But even so, the fact that she was a Pokémon nagged at the back of her mind. She wanted to know what was going on and why she had become an amnesiac Eevee. She wanted to know why she had washed up on that beach and she wanted to know why she was here.

But for the time being, the opportunity to be a Pokémon was too tempting. She was suddenly filled with enough power - an attribute she was sure she had lacked in the past - to throw grown men off their feet. It was exhilarating and she had a new understanding of why Pokémon fought for sport so often. Even Liro seemed to be enjoying himself, appearing confident despite his earlier pleas for support.

Eventually, they hit the bottom floor of the cave. It was a sandy pit with water seeping up from the ocean, with the cave walling them in from all sides. Sitting by the water were the two boys, the Zubat fiddling with a large piece of rubble. "This is trash! Why did we bother?"

Liro, who had been working up the courage to approach them, called out at that moment. "Hey!"

The boys startled and grinned when they caught sight of the two. "Well, well, well! Look who came crawling after us."

Liro took a deep breath. "Give me back my Relic Fragment."

Zubat laughed. "You want this piece of trash so bad? We had our hearts set on selling it to some big-wig explorer, so no can do. You'll just have to make do withou-"

The boy was cut off quite abruptly when a small fist came flying at his face. It was a weak attempt, with little power and no skill whatsoever, but it had felt good. Smirky little brat had it coming, she thought victoriously as the boy stumbled back, touching his jaw in disbelief. Yumemi loosely shook her hand. She had never punched someone – that she could remember – but she had a feeling she wasn't doing it right, if the sting in her hand was anything to go by.

The Zubat's face sharpened in annoyance. "Fine. You want it, girly? Come get it."


Katunei999 here,

Here's the second chapter, as promised. I hope this makes up for the missed deadline! With any luck, the next chapter should be around 1st May. Now, as Tigger would say, TTFN, ta-ta for now!