This chapter was kinda difficult since Lyra has already traveled through Route 29, 30, and Cherrygrove City. Hopefully, I did alright, though. Also, I have no idea on any Pokémon that Lyra should capture, so if you have any ideas, feel free to tell me! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of its characters, including Lyra or Ethan.


Chapter 7

"Chikorita, use Tackle attack!" Lyra commanded, and the Leaf Pokémon charged at the enemy Caterpie, slamming into it at full force. Caterpie flew through the air and landed onto the ground with a thud. "Great job, Chikorita!" As soon as she said that however, the Worm Pokémon slowly got up.

"You can do it, Caterpie!" the Caterpie's Trainer cheered. "Use String Shot to tie it up!" The light green caterpillar-like Pokémon took in a deep breath and fired a thin white string from its mouth at Chikorita.

"This again? Chikorita, use Razor Leaf to cut it up!" Lyra shouted. Chikorita jumped into the air and swung its head, making multiple light green leaves fly from the leaf at the String Shot, cutting it to bits. The leaves then curved around and struck Caterpie, knocking it out at once. The brown-haired boy sighed and recalled his Caterpie back into its Poké Ball. "Awesome job, Chikorita!" Chikorita ran up to its Trainer and jumped into her arms.

"Very impressive battling!" the young boy complimented, fixing his cream colored shorts and walking up to Lyra. "Are you going to be going for Gym Battles, or are you going to enter Contests?" Lyra smiled.

"Well, actually, I'm on a mission right now, so I don't know if I'll have time for any of those," Lyra said, returning Chikorita into her Poké Ball and putting it away. Marill jumped up to her favorite spot on her Trainer's arm and watched the two talk.

"Well, surely you have to be interested in one of them!" Lyra thought for a moment.

"I guess if I had to choose, I'd probably choose battling in Gyms. You couldn't get me into a dress if you tried!" she replied, and they both laughed.

"That's good. You're really good at battling. It's hard to believe that you're a new Pokémon Trainer!" the boy said. "There's a Gym in Violet City, right next to this route." Lyra thought for a moment.

"Really?" she asked him, and the boy nodded in response. "I still don't know. I'm still looking for someone, and if I get involved in Gym Battling, then it will only let that person get ahead." The boy was quiet for a moment as he fixed his smooth brown hair.

"I've been here all day; maybe I've seen the person you were looking for?" the boy suggested.

"Okay then. The boy I'm looking for has shoulder length red hair, and he has a really mean look on his face. A look that could frighten small children," Lyra explained. The boy stood for a moment, and his face looked as if he was searching through his memories.

"An older kid with red eyes? And he had on a dark shirt and jeans, right?" Lyra excitedly nodded.

"That's him! He stole a Totodile from Prof. Elm, and I'm trying to get it back. Did you see him?"

"Yeah, he challenged me to a battle. As a matter of fact, he only used a Totodile. Seemed to be pretty mean to it as well..." The boy mumbled the last sentence mostly to himself then to Lyra, it seemed to her, but she heard it quite well.

"Which way did he go after the battle?" Lyra questioned. The boy pointed to the north.

"He made his way to Violet City. Said something about going to Sprout Tower," the boy replied. "Not to me, but I heard it." Lyra nodded.

"Okay then, I guess I have to go there, then," Lyra said. "Thanks, kid." The boy nodded and the two Trainers shook hands.

"You should really look into the whole Gym Battle thing. I think you would do excellent!" Lyra nodded and started to walk away towards the direction the boy pointed to.

"I really wouldn't mind Gym Battles too much, Marill," Lyra said to her Pokémon as they strolled up the road. "They actually seem like a lot of fun. But would Prof. Elm mind if we participated while we're on a mission for him?" The light blue Pokémon shrugged. "I don't know either. Maybe I'll give him a call when we get to the Pokémon Center." Lyra thought for a moment then shook her head. "No, first Silver, then Gym Battles!"

o 0 o

Lyra arrived at Violet City after about twenty minutes of walking through the small path on Route 31. The city had a peaceful, quiet feel to it, and Lyra had never been to this city before. In the distance, she could see a huge, tall tower in the background of the city. Luckily, the Pokémon Center was right near the entrance, and Lyra walked right it when she arrived. Inside, there was a Nurse Joy behind the counter, working on a computer. Lyra walked up to the counter and handed the pink haired woman Chikorita's Poké Ball and placed Marill on the counter. "Here you go Nurse Joy!" The Nurse Joy smiled and called over a Blissey who put the Poké Ball on a tray, put Marill on a stroller, and walked into the back room.

"Thank you. Your Pokémon will be ready in just a few moments," Nurse Joy said, and smiled at Lyra once again.

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," Lyra replied, bowing slightly. "I have a question about this place; are you busy?" Nurse Joy clicked a couple times on her computer using her mouse, then turned towards Lyra.

"I'm all ears. What do you want to know?"

"Well, I saw a large tower in the back of the city, and I was wondering if that was Sprout Tower?" Lyra asked.

"A tall tower with blue shingles, right?" Nurse Joy replied, and Lyra nodded. "Yes, that is Sprout Tower. Lots of beginning Pokémon Trainers go there to train their Pokémon. It's run by a group of monks." Lyra put her hand on her chin to think.

"If people go there to train, that must be where Silver went," she mumbled to herself.

"Are you looking for someone in particular?" Nurse Joy asked, hearing Lyra's muttering.

"Kinda. I'm looking for a boy with long red hair and a permanent scowl on his face," Lyra answered.

"Oh, a boy who looked like that came in here not too long ago. He healed his Pokémon, then left without saying a word," the pink haired nurse explained. "Is he a friend of yours?" Lyra laughed nervously to herself.

"Not exactly," she replied. Then, the Blissey from before walked out and handed Lyra her Marill and her Chikorita's Poké Ball. "Thanks Blissey. And thank you, Nurse Joy!" The brunette put away her Poké Ball and ran out the door, with Marill following close behind.

o 0 o

Violet City was full of friendly people, and when an elderly lady noticed that Lyra was new to the town, she showed her the way to Sprout Tower. "Wow, thanks ma'am. It was really nice of you to show me the way!" Lyra said, bowing to the woman in thanks.

"No problem, little lady. Good luck in your training!" the woman replied, and walked off, her cane making a small thunk every time it hit the ground. Lyra turned around and examined the tower. There were two stone bridges that reached over a pond that surrounded the tower. On an island in between the two bridges, there were two statues of a Bellsprout on either side of it. The tower itself was huge, and it sounded as if something was creaking inside it. The creaking sent chills running up Lyra's spine, and she hugged Marill in her arms tightly.

"This place gives me the creeps, Marill," Lyra said to her Pokémon.

"Marill, Mair," it said to its Trainer, patting her arm comfortingly. Lyra smiled slightly at her Pokémon and walked forward into the tower. As soon as Lyra strolled into the large tower, she gasped at the sight she saw. Right in the middle of the tower, there was a huge beam that rocked back and forth all on its own. Obviously the beam was the main attraction, since it was in the middle of the room, and all there was in there other than the beam were stairs going up to the upper floors. From behind a pillar, a man wearing a long gray robe walked out. He wore wooden getas on his feet, and he had black hair that was shaven, and thus very short. Around his neck, he wore a necklace of prayer beads, and hooked onto them was a Poké Ball. The man walked over to Lyra and bowed.

"Hello, and welcome to the Sprout Tower," the man said. "Have you come here to train, or to sight-see?"

"Well, actually, I was kinda-" Lyra began, but was then interrupted by a huge explosion coming from upstairs. Both Lyra and the monk turned towards the stairs and saw smoke coming down from one of the upper floors. "What in the world was that?"

"I don't know, but let's find out!" the monk said, and they both started running up the stairs, waving the smoke away from their faces. At the top of the stairs, there was a group of monks on the ground, as well as a bunch of Bellsprout. All of the monks and Bellsprout were collapsed on the ground, and all of them were circled around a red-headed boy and a Totodile.

"Silver!" Lyra exclaimed.

"Marill!" Marill copied, jumping out of her Trainer's arms.

"You know this boy?" the monk asked. Lyra nodded. Silver glanced at the two, but ignored them and looked down at Totodile.

"Well, you're improving. That's a start," Silver said to it, and the Pokémon nodded. Silver then faced an elderly man wearing purple and yellow robes that was sitting on a chair in the back. "Okay, old man, I defeated your monks. Now we battle you." The old man nodded and got up slowly, taking out a Poké Ball from his robe.

"You have met my conditions, and I have no choice but to accept your challenge. I will not hold back, however," the elderly man replied.

"That is the elder of this tower. He watches over it, and he is also the strongest out of all of us," the monk next to Lyra explained to her. "However, that boy seems to be strong as well." The Elder walked forward and stopped, making room for a battlefield.

"This shall be a two on two Pokémon battle. Is that alright with you?" the Elder asked.

"Whatever. Either way, I'm starting with Totodile," Silver responded, and Totodile jumped forward.

"I choose Bellsprout! Go!" The Elder tossed his Poké Ball and it burst open, releasing a small flower-like Pokémon. It had a yellow head that looked like a bell, and a thin, brown root-like body with two leaves connected at the sides.

"Bellsprout?" Lyra asked.

"Bellsprout are our main Pokémon here at Sprout Tower. The beam in the middle sways back and forth like a Bellsprout," the monk said to Lyra.

"Oh, so that's why it's called Sprout Tower!" Lyra responded.

"Precisely," the monk answered, and looked on at the battle. The Elder ran his fingers through his thick white mustache and started the battle.

"Bellsprout, Vine Whip now!" the Elder shouted. The Bellsprout raised its leaf-like arms and two dark green vines came out from in between its leaves and body, both of them heading towards Totodile.

"Bellsprout again? I took on five Bellsprout at the same time and beat them all. What makes you think this Bellsprout isn't going to meet the same fate as the others? Totodile, dodge the vines and use Ice Fang now!" Totodile ran towards the two vines and jumped over them as they struck the floor where it had previously been. Then, the Big Jaw Pokémon opened its mouth and two of its sharp teeth started to glow light blue, and they fired two light blue beams from them at Bellsprout, hitting the Flower Pokémon. Bellsprout called out in pain and it bounced off the ground before settling. "Now, Scratch attack!" Totodile landed on the ground and started to run towards Bellsprout, its claws ready to strike.

"Bellsprout, Stun Spore!" the Elder called out, and Bellsprout raised its head, releasing a sparkling orange powder from its mouth at Totodile.

"Jump back!" Silver shouted, and Totodile did that, just mere seconds before the powder reached it. "Ice Fang now!" Like before, Totodile opened its mouth and fired two light blue beams from its fangs at Bellsprout, this time knocking out the Flower Pokémon. The Elder grumbled and recalled his Pokémon.

"Elder Li!" the monk next to Lyra shouted, but the Elder held out his hand to stop him.

"I am fine, Nico," he said to him, and the monk calmed down. Totodile looked at Silver slightly.

"Don't look at me. That Stun Spore was very close to hitting you. You should have dodged faster," Silver lectured. Totodile immediately looked away when Silver said those words. The Elder stared at Silver a little bit before he took out another Poké Ball from his robe.

"Hoothoot, go!" Li shouted, and tossed the Poké Ball in his hand. The ball burst open and a brown owl-like Pokémon standing on one leg came out of the ball.

"No Bellsprout? What a surprise," Silver sarcastically said. "Totodile, if you lose this battle, I'll turn you into a pair of shoes, understand?" Totodile gasped and nodded its head up and down as hard as it could. Both Lyra and Nico gasped at the red-head's statement.

"How dare you!" Nico shouted. "You must learn to be nice-"

"Quiet, or I'll send Totodile to attack you," Silver stated, not turning to face them at all, but facing the battlefield. Elder Li looked at Nico and shook his head. "Totodile, use Scratch attack now!" Totodile ran forward, its claws extended.

"Hoothoot, fly into the air, then use Peck attack!" Li commanded. As Totodile reached Hoothoot, the Owl Pokémon started flapping its wings and flew into the air. Totodile looked up as Hoothoot flipped around and dove down, repeatedly pecking Totodile's head with its pink beak. Totodile tried to strike it with a Scratch attack, but every time it would swipe at Hoothoot, the Pokémon would fly up, then come down to Peck it.

"Totodile, Water Gun!" Silver ordered. Totodile swiped one last time at Hoothoot, and when the Owl Pokémon flew into the air, the Big Jaw Pokémon fired a spiral of water from its mouth at it. Hoothoot was hit with the blast and it fell to the ground, bouncing a couple times due to its ball-like body. "Ice Fang." Totodile's fangs started to glow light blue and it fired two light blue beams from its mouth.

"Hoothoot, send the attack back at it with Confusion attack!" Elder Li called. Hoothoot bounced right back up and its red eyes started to glow light blue. Suddenly, the light blue beams shooting from Totodile's fangs became surrounded by an even deeper light blue, and the beams curved, heading towards Totodile instead of Hoothoot. Totodile called out in surprise at seeing its own attack shot right back at it.

"It's controlling the attack with its mind, Totodile," Silver told the Big Jaw Pokémon. "Dodge it and use Bite attack!" Totodile snapped out of the surprised state and it jumped out of the way of the attack. As the light blue glow faded from Hoothoot's eyes, Totodile landed in front of it and bit down on Hoothoot's wing with its powerful jaw. Hoothoot called out in pain and started flailing around, but Totodile held on with all its might. "Use Ice Fang again." Totodile's fangs started to glow light blue once again, and suddenly, there was a huge explosion, just like the one from before. Once the smoke and dust passed and flew out the window, Elder Li's Hoothoot was encased in a block of ice.

"Hoothoot!" Elder Li called. He sighed and reached into his robe to grab his Pokémon's Poké Ball, when Silver spoke up.

"Totodile, Water Gun," he muttered, and Totodile fired a spiral of water from its mouth, hitting the Owl Pokémon and shooting it against the wall, breaking the ice and causing it to faint.

"What a rude child!" Nico shouted. "Elder's Pokémon was already knocked out! You did not need to attack it again!" Silver ignored his statement and he smirked, looking at Totodile. Totodile was looking at its hands strangely, and suddenly, its whole body started to glow white. Lyra gasped, and so did Marill.

"Totodile's evolving?" Lyra asked in surprise. "But I thought that Pokémon could only evolve when it really likes its Trainer?"

"Not for all Pokémon," Nico explained. "For your Marill, that was the case when it was an Azurill, but for Pokémon like Bellsprout or Totodile, it is not." Totodile's glowing body grew larger, and it seemed to be growing new parts. Finally, the glow faded, and a brand new Pokémon stood in its place. This Pokémon seemed a lot like Totodile, but it had definitely changed. Its bottom jaw was now tan colored, and it had a pattern on its body that made it look like it was wearing a cloth on one shoulder. On its head, it had a red appendage sticking out of the top of its head, as well as one going down its back, and at the end of its tail. Its red eyes grew more fiercer, and around them they had black markings.

"Croconaw!" it called out loudly.

"Excellent..." Silver muttered, smirking. Lyra took out her Pokédex and scanned the newly evolved Pokémon. "Croconaw, the Big Jaw Pokémon, and the evolved form of Totodile. Once it bites down on something, it won't let go until it loses its fangs. But new fangs grow back quickly."

"Croconaw..." Lyra repeated, then gasped. "Oh no, what am I going to tell Prof. Elm?" Silver smirked at Croconaw, then recalled it into its Poké Ball. Elder Li then walked forward.

"Your battle strength is amazing, but you should have more care about your Pokémon," he said to the red-head. "You should care for your Pokémon more. They are not tools of war."

"Don't tell me, you old fool; you lost to me," Silver snapped. "The only thing that I care about are strong Pokémon who will win every battle they are in." Silver turned to face Lyra, and he stared at her with his angry red eyes. "I would battle you right now, but you would lose just the same, as these monks did." Silver didn't wait for a response as he started to walk down the stairs.

"Wait! Give me back Totodile!" Lyra shouted. However, Silver ignored her and continued walking down the steps, eventually exiting Sprout Tower. "Figures. I would chase after him, but these people need to be helped." Her, Nico and Marill ran up to each monk, helping both them and their Bellsprout up. Each one that Lyra helped mentioned something about how ruthless Silver was, but Lyra paid no attention to them. All she could think of was Totodile evolving into Croconaw. That's going to be a problem. Totodile evolved so fast! Probably because Silver was training it nonstop until it was caught up to his Nidoran. Suddenly, a strong wind appeared, and a large brown and cream colored bird with long yellow and red feathers on its head flew in front of the windows of Sprout Tower. On the bird Pokémon's back was a young man with dark blue hair, and he jumped down off his Pokémon and onto the Sprout Tower floor. On his shoulder, a Hoothoot was perched, looking around with its large red eyes.

"I heard a large explosion here. Is everyone alright?" the man asked as he examined the place for damage.

"Everything is fine, Falkner. It was just a Trainer, training his Pokémon here," Elder Li replied. The man, Falkner, nodded and fixed his light blue robes.

"Just making sure. Usually, an explosion that loud isn't heard from my Gym," Falkner said, then looked towards Lyra and her Marill. "Is this the Trainer?"

"No, she arrived moments before. She is just a spectator," Li answered.

"Hi, I'm Lyra," she introduced, sticking out her hand to shake his.

"I'm Falkner, Leader of the Violet City Gym." Falkner walked forward and shook Lyra's hand. Hoothoot smiled at Lyra, and then to her Marill as well.

"So you're the Gym Leader?" Lyra asked, and Falkner nodded.

"Do you plan on challenging me?" he replied, smirking.

"I don't know yet. I don't really know what I'm going to do," she sighed.

"Well, maybe tomorrow you should come over to the Gym and try your hand at a battle with me. If you win, I'll give you a badge. How about it?" Lyra looked at Falkner's Hoothoot, then over at the Pidgeot flying around outside the tower.

"I don't even know if I'll stand a chance, but I guess I can give it a try." Falkner smiled and nodded.

"Good, then I'll see you tomorrow morning," he said, and started walking towards the window. "I'm glad no one was hurt, Elder." Elder Li waved at Falkner, and the young man jumped out the window. Lyra gasped in horror, but then sighed in relief when she saw that he landed on Pidgeot and they flew back towards the city. Elder Li walked up to Lyra, and Marill jumped up to hang onto her Trainer's arm.

"You're planning on challenging Falkner to a battle tomorrow?" Elder Li asked her. Lyra shrugged.

"I guess so!" she said, then giggled. Elder Li smiled.

"Falkner is a very powerful Gym Leader, more powerful than most of the others," he told the brunette. She raised one of her eyebrows.

"Are you sure? I think I remember my friend Jimmy once telling me that the Gym Leader here was a piece of cake to beat.

"How long ago was this?"

"About 3 or 4 years ago," Lyra answered after searching her memories. Elder Li nodded.

"When Falkner first started, he wasn't a very strong Gym Leader, and he would always be beaten. One day, however, he asked me to take him into a far away place and train him. Now, Falkner hardly ever loses."

"Oh, well thanks for the encouraging words..." Lyra mumbled sarcastically. "Anyways, I've got to go. I have a telephone call to make." Li nodded, and bowed to the brunette. All the other monks did as well, and Lyra waved goodbye as she walked down the stairway.


Well, this chapter went by quick. Quicker than last chapter -. Anyways, hope there was more action in this chapter for you guys. Anybody who feels sorry for Totodile/Croconaw, raise your hand *raises hand*. Again, sorry for the big skip from New Bark to Route 31, but there wasn't anything interesting in Route 29-Cherrygrove City-Route 30. I could have done a contest, but I didn't really want to. I need to start looking into places to put OCs as well.

Also, this is an important announcement for those of you who like my writing style, or like Yu-gi-oh. A good friend of mine, Curse of the Black Rose, and I, are going to be collaborating on a Yu-gi-oh story. We haven't decided on a title, or even finished chapter 1, but we are deciding to give it a shot. Hopefully, you're interested, and I'll have more information next chapter.

Finally, some people were telling me that they were having trouble trying to read last chapter. I find this odd, but I'm sure it was FF.N. If you didn't read it, read it now! Now, to thank the reviewers:

Thanks:

Curse of the Black Rose

Nianque

Creation of Pokerus

Hotrod198

arkee

Next chapter, Lyra tries her hand at a Gym Battle against Falkner. Will she win her first badge, or will she be defeated from the get-go? Thanks for reading/reviewing. See you next chapter!