THE GIRL AND THE LUGIA

By kathlaida-princess

Summary: In order to bring his best friend back to the world he knew, a boy has to make a sacrifice and change into the most beautiful creature, the Sea Guardian itself, so that he could find out the reason why she left in the first place and he could tell her how he really felt inside… However, when the boy is kidnapped by a Pokemon Collector, things get complicated, as the girl must return the boy's love for him to be human again before it is too late.

With the special appearance of Lugia, my favorite Pokemon!

I sure hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Pokemon characters nor the places in the Pokemon World. If I did, Harrison and his Blaziken would appear more often. And I don't own Friends either. If Friends belonged to me, huh… oh, I wouldn't change anything besides what I mentioned before, as it is so great! Blah, blah, blah. But I hope you enjoy this, though.

Author's Notes: First of all, I want to say that you, my readers, are very lucky, as I'm going through a very good phase of my life and I feel very inspired to write! Second, as usual, thank you Mew3692002 (you can't imagine how surprised I was when I accessed my e-mail box and I had 10 new messages, all reviews for this fic! You made my day! I'm glad you also think that caringly-trained Pokemon can defeat legendary ones, I'm glad you like the way I describe flights and swimming parts, but I'm specially glad that I made someone fall in love with Lugia has I fell. But I hope you changed your opinion about Ross the Togetic: sure, he can be a bit brutal, but deep down he's the sweetest. Well, I want to go to the Pokemon World too… Maybe someday I'll find a special book somewhere… Of course, the calm before the storm… And I guess you can take it literally this time… One more chapter at maximum until the action starts… Thank you for your great reviews!), HaloEver (I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, thanks for correcting my mistake…), dragonsrulllz (Thanks for your review, but I don't think it would be a good idea, Daniel will only return to his human form when he brings Karen back or/and she returns his love for her. Sorry, but it just can't happen… But thanks for the suggestion!) and for your inspirational reviews! Third, I hope you didn't have to wait much for this… On with the story!

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CHAPTER 11

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM… (thank you Mew3692002 for the idea!)

Daniel's trainings were going very well: every day was a new adventure, he learnt more and more every second and felt there happier than he felt when he was human. Well, with Chandler's jokes, Joey and Phoebe's lightness and Karen's compliments who wouldn't? Only then he realized how much he missed her, her smile, her cheerful and talkative nature, even though she had now her own ghosts from the past. His plan of winning back her trust was working very well and every night he decided his next steps before he went to sleep.

He was getting a more powerful and convincing Lugia as time passed and his teachers were very happy with his success, but Daniel still wasn't able to perform an Aeroblast and he still couldn't pass the final test, the one that would make him a real part of that team: a battle against all the six Pokemon at the same time. It was true he had already won several battles against them when they were fighting one on one, but the six friends were much stronger together than apart. Some of them covered the others' weaknesses and together they made even more astounding combined moves, like Chandler and Joey's "Bomb Toss" (when Chandler would use Rollout and Joey threw his friend to their enemies), which was particularly painful when he was flying, and Rachel and Monica's "Dive Punch", when Monica rode on Rachel while she was Flying above Daniel and then dropped on him, using a very powerful Thunder Punch on his back. Also, Phoebe's Body Slam never let him perform a complete Whirlpool and Ross's Metronome always threw the surprise element into the battle. But the worst of all was when they all used the Return attack at the same time, the attack that grows more powerful according to the level of Friendship between Pokemon and Trainer. Daniel tried and retried to win that battle, but he just wasn't able to do it. Not even the legendary Lugia can match the power of Friendship… unless he uses Friendship on his own too…

Watching Daniel being defeated over and over and still trying to win the battle one more time sure touched Karen's heart, and she knew she had trained her Pokemon a little too well, so she decided to help him with that, mainly because he deserved victory after all that persistence, but also because she wanted him to be full part of the team. So, hiding it from the others, they started having secret training sessions, on which they had loads of fun together, besides all the funny secrets Karen revealed about her Pokemon.

"So, let me see…" she said, starting to think about her Pokemon's few weaknesses. "They will first try to attack you separately, so you try to inflict as much damage as you can then. You already know their weaknesses there, so I won't lose that much time. Or don't you?"

"Chandler's weaker when I put his flame out, I just need to Headbutt him. Rachel's not as fast as I am, so I can make her use her Sky Attack against the wall instead of me. Joey has less fighting abilities in midair, so I'll make him Surf my Whirlpool till he reaches its middle and then I'll stop it and slash him with my tail. I can dodge Phoebe with my psychic powers, Safeguarding myself from her, and then using my own Sing to distract her. Monica's tougher, but I still can use my dirt shield against her. Ross is the easiest, if I transform him into 'The Red Ross', he won't be able to concentrate enough to win. But I'm not worried about that, Karen, the problem is when they're working together," Daniel explained.

"And we'll find a solution to that too… Their combo attacks can be difficult to dodge, but it's not impossible. But you'll have to be in complete harmony with your Safeguard, because it will help you a lot. So, do you control your Safeguard well?"

"I do."

"Good. Then I will tell you their secrets… The first combo they'll do will be the 'Diving Punch' and I can tell you exactly how to stop it. As you know, Chandler and Monica are secretly dating (A/N: Lol…), and their love for each other is transparent in battle. For example, when Monica dives towards you using Thunder Punch, Chandler will always be on the ground to catch her in his arms when she falls. So, when they use that combo, try to fly over water to make Monica dive into the sea when you dodge her. Oblivious to Chandler's presence, she will Thunder Punch the water, and you can guess the rest…"

"Yeah, electricity travels through water, and all of her attack's power will hit Chandler, knocking him out…" he answered. "That's a very clever trick…"

"How do think I got to where I am today? And it isn't all… Monica will be distracted then and it will be the perfect time to Headbutt her. And just like that, your most difficult opponent will be out."

Daniel liked her ideas a lot, and listened to them all. With Karen's help, he was sure to win against them all. He already felt like he was part of the team, but another feeling swept over him: pride. He was very proud of her success, of the way she found happiness so far away, of how she was faithful to her beliefs till the end. It was while he was preparing to face the final test when the first stab of doubt hit him. Was he doing the right thing? His best friend was happy now, should he take her away from her happiness? However, he hadn't much time to think about it, as he found himself on the battlefield again: on the beach, by the calm ocean, waiting for the battle to begin again.

He landed gently right in front of the sea, feeling the foam invade his big feet. The Lugia looked to his left and answered Karen's greeting with a broad smile. It was when his opponents finally arrived.

The first part of the battle was very easy. Still on the ground, Chandler used his Overheat move to roast Daniel, but he directed a powerful water stream to the other's neck and put out the flame that powered his fire attacks. Feeling hopeless, the Typhlosion still tried to use his Earthquake, but the Lugia flew up and dodged the attack.

Chandler wanted to carry on, but then Rachel came. He would have another chance to attack him later. The female Pidgeot obviously joined Daniel on air. First, she tried to attack him with her Fly attack, but he was just too agile. Of course she then tried to use Sky Attack and of course Daniel dodged the attack, but Rachel didn't hit the cliff as planned for she was able to stop herself at cost in time. But the battle wasn't over yet and the Lugia had another chance. Just not now…

The Pidgeot left the battlefield and Joey the Furret entered. He had his usual daring smile on his face and was ready for battle, even though it wouldn't be that good for the poor mammal Pokemon. Like he had planned with Karen, Daniel brought the fight to the ocean and dived into it, creating an awesome full-sized Whirlpool when he returned to the surface. Also, like he had planned, the unaware Joey Surfed Daniel's Whirlpool, giving the Lugia the chance to destroy it right when the Joey was in the middle of it, by opening his wings widely. Daniel tried to attack the Furret with his tail, but Joey recovered instantly from the previous move and his reflexes made him dodge the powerful blow by directing water stream-like Surf to Daniel's head. He then swam swiftly to the beach and Dug, hiding under the sand. Daniel could easily dodge the attack by continuing to fly, but he had a much better idea. He landed near a big and heavy rock on the sand and laid his head on it. He knew Joey could sense his weight from the underground and he would know exactly where he was, but Daniel also knew he would mistake the huge rock with a part of the Lugia's body and would attack it instead of him. The other Pokemon quickly understood the plan and Phoebe screamed, "Joey, don't do that! It's not gonna work!"

But the Furret could never hear his friend's advice from the underground and decided to un-burrow himself right under the giant rock he had dumbly mistaken with Daniel's head. Evidently, however powerful Joey could be, he could never lift that rock with his bare head. So, instead of hitting Daniel as he had planned, the Furret Headbutted the rock hard, making an immense noise, knocking himself out instantly. They needed ten minutes, all the Pokemon's strength and Karen's help to take the unconscious Furret out of the sand and then home for some rest.

Phoebe was next. She was still a bit frustrated about Joey's failure to attack Daniel, but that only gave her even more will to beat him. She immediately started Singing, but Daniel had some tricks to stop her: he started to Sing his own melodious song too. As his voice was much louder, it was Phoebe who became dizzier by the minute, until she couldn't stand her eyelids open anymore. Then, Daniel just used Psychic to lift her up and to send her crashing down to the floor in an astounding speed. Just like Joey before, the Wigglytuff didn't resist the attack. Two down, another four to go. The Lugia just said, "You can never let anger control you in battle, you will lose your focus and won't be able to see what happens around you." Ross's face lit up with a smile.

"I taught him that!" he exclaimed. But Monica just elbowed him on his "egg". She went forward, frowning, ready to take him on.

The Lugia could know a lot of tricks to stop elemental attacks, but he also knew Monica was smarter than he was when it came to that, mainly because she constantly invented new moves in battle. "Fighting is a lot like cooking: if you use always the same moves or ingredients, it will get boring and you'll grow a defense to it," she usually said. However, he wasn't prepared for what came next. The attractive Ampharos charged up a Zap Cannon attack and Daniel had his Safeguard ready, not knowing he wouldn't need it, just because Monica directed her powerful electrical attack to the ground, opening a big trench on the sand that stopped right between his cat-like legs, but still unable to reach the Lugia. Daniel looked confused at her. What was she trying to do? He felt scared when he saw the evil smile on her face and finally understood her plan when the trench she created filled with seawater. He panicked. If he didn't fly up immediately, Monica would Thunder Punch the water and the attack would hurt him badly. But when the Lugia was motioning to leave the ground, Monica used a little effective yet useful move: Cotton Spore. A big cloud of cotton balls invaded him and his evasiveness fell harshly. He wasn't able to move a muscle! Then, smiling madly, the Ampharos Thunder Punched the artificial water line and hit Daniel. He had the presence of spirit to bring up his Safeguard in the middle of the attack, but most of the damage was done. And was with him facing down the sand and with Monica leaving the battlefield proudly that Ross, the last solo fighter, came in. But not for too long…

He let the Lugia recover from the previous blow (for it was what an honest fighter did) and prepared himself for what he believed to be the attack that would bring Daniel down. Feeling lucky, the Togetic used his Metronome. The young Lugia looked expectantly at the small Pokemon. He knew he could expect anything, but he hoped that it would be something that would help him. And it really was! The attack he used was High Jump Kick, but as Daniel was on the ground, Ross missed him, and came crashing to the ground, hurting himself. "I'm okay…" he muttered from the sand, when the rest of the still conscious Pokemon came to his aid.

Rachel said, "I'm glad you are, because that way I can strangle you for missing that move!"

And the group joined and started to discuss some tactics silently, while Daniel recovered completely from Monica's attack. There were still four Pokemon left and the worst part of the battle had just begun, but Daniel was confident he would win that time. Besides, Karen came to cheer him up for a minute, and her support was more than enough for him to beat up an entire family of rampant Gyarados.

And then finally, the four Pokemon separated and joined in two groups of two: Monica and Rachel, Ross and Chandler. As Daniel expected, Monica and Rachel were the first group to attack and he went on with his plan and overflew the ocean, noticing that Chandler started heading there too, for Ross's great despair. Looking up, he could also see Monica riding Rachel with the same mad smile she had before, ready to repeat the previous move. But now Daniel knew he could face her with the same smile.

Suddenly, the Ampharos fell from the beautiful Pidgeot and dived to the Lugia's back, her closed fist already sparkling greatly. But Daniel only made one swift move to get out of her trajectory and make her dive in the ocean instead, her electric attack hitting Chandler as planned. And like Karen said, Monica distracted herself a bit while lecturing her loved one.

"Darn it, Chandler! Why did you have to get on the way?" she yelled.

"Thank you very much, I was just trying to assure you a safe landing!" he retorted.

"I don't care! Now we're only three against a LUGIA!"

And Daniel took advantage of the moment to try to attack the Ampharos, but he was abruptly stopped by Rachel, who got on his way. She yelled to her friend, "Monica, just stop it and take Chandler to the others for treatment. We still have a chance. Ross and I will try to stop him!"

"Yeah, as if you had a chance without me…" was the last thing they heard the Ampharos say.

Rachel just ignored her and made the Lugia fly between her and Ross the Togetic. Then, she just yelled, "NOW!" and the two flying Pokemon Flew towards Daniel.

Daniel half expected that, so he immediately thought of an escape plan. Right on the last moment, he used all his Agility and knowledge to get out of their attack line. He folded his great silver-white wings against his body and dived, still hearing the loud crash of the two friends. He entered the water during the commotion outside, stood still and sharpened his audition to hear the others' plan. The first thing he heard was Monica, returning from the beach.

"I can't believe you missed that one! Now Ross is down too! It's only you and me against Daniel!"

"I know, I know!" Rachel yelled. "But there wasn't much we could do! Now stop yelling and we'll finish him off! He never endured this attack, even underwater."

And Daniel could see them motioning towards him through the crystal-clear water and he knew that if he escaped now, he could win the battle: he just had to remember what Karen taught him.

"Ready?" Monica asked.

"Ready," Rachel answered.

"Ready," Daniel thought.

And the two females clapped their hands or wings in front their bodies, creating a massive energy wave around them that extended to the distance, destroying everything on its way. That was the power of a perfectly done Return. Luckily, Daniel had a trick up his sleeve and Safeguarded himself from that deadly blow. That time, his protective shield resisted, because they were only two Pokemon using Return. When the attack finally faded away, the two female Pokemon got closer to the still submerging Daniel to try to see if he was still conscious, but that was their biggest mistake. Sensing their proximity, all Daniel did was smile and sing. And then, driven by his new and outstanding psychic powers, the water around him seemed to explode, sending Monica and Rachel away. They actually got one second to understand what happened to them before they lost their senses. And a wave of happiness swept over him: he had won the battle, he had passed the final test!

So, he flew up to the surface as fast as a bullet and burst out of the water, small liquid diamond-like tears flying everywhere, his wings wide open and his head facing the sky, singing with his entire splendor. He flew to the sun and the drops still dripping from his silver body transformed into little rainbows. The beauty of the moment was only comparable to the happiness he was feeling. After that short instant of delight, the Lugia landed graciously on the sand, still with a broad smile on his face.

Karen ran to him and hugged his neck caringly. She too felt ecstatic, her favorite Pokemon was part of her Pokemon team! What else could be better?

"You did great! That last move was just amazing! Who taught you that?" she exclaimed.

"Chandler. It's kind of a water version of Overheat. It was the heat of the moment that made me use it. I just hope they'll be alright…" he stated, staring the six fainted Pokemon.

"Don't worry, they will. They are very strong Pokemon. They'll just be a bit rancorous for the few next days, but I know they'll be happy for having you in the team. You did great!"

And they just took the fainted Pokemon home, let them rest and spent the rest of the afternoon celebrating. Karen even made a seafood soufflé for him. It didn't taste exactly as Monica's, but it was as delicious. Maybe because she had made it just for him…

When the starlight replaced the frail sunlight, Karen started telling Daniel more about the team. She showed him an old scrapbook where she kept all the newspaper clippings of her adventure. The Lugia listened and saw everything with a passionate attention, awe-struck with all she had done, all she had achieved all by herself. Champion of the Kanto, Jotho and Hoenn League. Winner of several contests (Joey was even the great champion of all Cool Contests and had his portrait done for the Lilycove Art Museum). Victor of the Silver Conference, where she had the pleasure to meet Harrison, the handsome (A/N: hum…) trainer that defeated the legendary Ash Ketchum on one of its battles. You name what more. There was still one time when even the great Professor Oak studied her Pokemon peculiar talking ability. And all that in three years. How could the young legendary Pokemon not be surprised?

Suddenly, the feeling of being part of that team made him happier, being able to belong to the greatest Pokemon trainer he had known was very rewarding. He partly wished for his plan to remain like that, but he knew it was impossible. Sooner or later, he would have to tell her the truth about who he really was, as her trust for him had been finally reestablished, but he didn't want to do it now, when everything was perfect. He feared she could never love him back, he feared she wouldn't come back to him. Why would she anyway? However, a plan was a plan, and he would stick to it till the end. The worst that could happen was for him to be abandoned on the Pokemon World as a Lugia, and he was already adapted to that fantastic body.

But he wouldn't think about it now: his best friend/the girl he loved was sharing her life with him and he didn't want to miss a bit. His problems could wait… Barely had he known they could only wait little…

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Lawrence the Third, the great Pokemon Collector, had spent the last week watching every move our Daniel made from his airship, after two days of looking for him. During that time, he found out most of his daily routine, as well as all his abilities and a way to catch him. Sure he was still a young Lugia and had less-than-half the splendor the Great Sea Guardian, but the Collector saw his Water Aura attack from distance and became fascinated by him. If he caught him as soon as possible, he could even teach him a few more astounding moves for Daniel to impress the others at the reunion.

And he was really planning to catch the legendary Pokemon in two days time, at night, when he would be completely alone, sleeping on his improvised room on the roof. Luckily, he didn't have to deal with the police nor do anything illegal, as the young girl that kept him didn't capture him in a PokeBall, so he wouldn't be stealing the Lugia. Everything was going very well…

"How is the Sea Beast tonight?" Lawrence asked his ship's main computer.

"Its status remains normal and unchanged, but the readings tell the Lugia feels happier today," a mechanical voice answered.

"That will change quickly," Lawrence stated, "After all, a legendary Pokemon must always look serious. Otherwise, it'll lose most of its majesty. I want the capturing plan complete tomorrow night, so that we can move forward with it the next night."

"As you wish, Sir"

And the Collector just stared at the window evilly. "This time, you won't escape. You were created to be part of my collection…"

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END OF CHAPTER

Finally, this is over!

Sorry for taking so long to update, but I've been a bit lazy these days… Let's just say that Jak (from the PS2 game series) has put a spell on me and I can't stop playing the second game over and over again… However, this chapter turned out to be bigger than what I expected, so I guess it compensates…

Anyway, it will only be three more chapters till the end of this story and I already thought of a sequel, even though I won't write it right away… (please, don't kill me!)

Last of all, I hope you liked this chapter and I really appreciated if you reviewed… Thank you, all that did till now, you're the ones that make this worth it!

I think I've got nothing else to say… See ya next chapter!

kathlaida-princess logging out…