Disclaimer: Pokemon does not belong to me. Last I checked, Pokemon belonged to Satoshi Tajiri. The only things I claim ownership to are the own characters in this story.
…
DUNNE DAYS
Part 12: Sleep
…
Sleep is an important thing.
Too little sleep will leave a Trainer feeling exhausted, and it can cause headaches, hallucinations and even depression.
Too much sleep, on the other hand, too much sleep can cause diabetes, heart disease and again, depression.
So, sleep, the ever important sleep, is a powerful tool.
Volcanoes are known for sleeping for long periods of time… normally…
So, a volcano, after sleeping for too long, may gain a problem… and that was the case with this one.
Cinnabar Volcano had been dormant for two thousand years before it woke up. Heart diseases caused lava surges that reached all the way to the Hoenn region, and diabetic vomiting caused it to regurgitate this lava, engulfing the entire Kanto region in molten rock and destroying Cinnabar Island.
The depression of causing this destruction made the volcano sulk, and it occasionally let out little lava blasts at anyone who dared to go near it.
…
Cinnabar Island had once been a bustling town, filled with happy inhabitants and many a holidaymaker. They lived in ignorance really - ignorant of the perils of the world, and of the world itself. Because of the distance from the rest of the Kanto region, Cinnabar Island was often isolated. Its surprisingly warm climate attracted lots of people seeking relaxation, whilst its attractions themselves were enough to persuade many to visit.
The abandoned Pokémon Mansion on the north of the island was a scientific marvel. The documents and research notes within, discovered by Blaine, told of many intriguing projects, such as the creation of Mewtwo.
The fabulous Cinnabar beaches were always jam-packed with tourists, building sandcastles and playing in the ocean.
But, by far, the most important location of Cinnabar Island was the Pokémon Gym.
Blaine had been the Gym Leader, training Fire-type Pokémon extensively thanks to the climate. He also dabbled in science, often studying with scientists inside the Pokémon Mansion. His insatiable curiosity had earned him a rather superior intellect. He told riddles that baffled even the most astute minds and, in fact, many Pokémon Trainers lost to his Gym simply because they could not get past the Gym's puzzle.
However, all this happiness and peace would soon collapse.
It was one day when Blaine was again studying in the Pokémon Mansion that he discovered just how ignorant the people of Cinnabar Island were… and also how doomed they would all be.
One particular file in the grand archive of the Mansion's library had been selected at random by Blaine's idle hand. The file was a study on volcanoes, with many paintings and depictions of the last known volcanic eruption in Kanto, two thousand years ago. Blaine, however, was more interested in the photos and the calculations of the previous occupant of the Pokémon Mansion. The photo depicted a scene of when Cinnabar Gym was first being built, with the Pokémon Mansion's genius occupant's handwriting labelling the area around it as "Possible Hotspot".
Blaine recognised the picture. It had been shown to the public before, and they had taken it as an advertisement for the Fire-type Gym. The notes, on the other hand, were in an unopened velvet envelope, the kind that was usually found around the Pokémon Mansion. Blaine tore it open, intrigued by the link between the Gym photo and the notes on volcanoes being together.
Two sheets of parchment fell out; one displaying a map of the Kanto region in its earliest days, with the Cinnabar Island just breaking off from the mainland. The other, Blaine read:
"Stratovolcano must be on Cinnabar Island.
Possible area: 33° 55' 0" South, 18° 25' 0" West.
Next erupt: 16 Jan 1997"
That was all Blaine needed to know. He immediately broadcast the news to the residents of Cinnabar Island, and with the deadline only a week away, the island was emptied as quickly as possible. The entire town of Cinnabar Island was deserted in three days after Blaine's discovery. And four days later, the volcano erupted, right on schedule.
* * * 14:02 - 8 June 2004 * * *
Blaine enjoyed visiting the location of his old Gym.
The volcano that had destroyed it was still active. It shot out lava spurts every now and then, providing an excellent training ground for his Fire type Pokémon, as the lava could hurt them, but not seriously.
Occasionally, he had company. Blue from Viridian City sometimes came to join him, and Trainers from other regions sometimes visited too, more often for sightseeing than to join his training though.
Thanks to the volcano, he had made friends with Bruno of the Kanto Elite Four (who had borrowed some of Blaine's Pokémon to add lava to his room at the Indigo League), Flannery of Hoenn's Lavaridge Town (who had stopped visiting recently now that Mount Chimney was more active), Flint of the Sinnoh Elite Four (he still visited often, and was far stronger than Blaine) and even Chili of Unova's Striaton City (who gave Blaine the best meals he'd ever had).
Nonetheless, Blaine was alone this time. Save for his Pokémon, of course!
However, he wasn't alone for long.
"Hey! Who are you?" a girl's voice behind him prompted him to turn around.
"A better question," Blaine replied, tapping his cane against the volcano. "Would be, "who are you?""
The girl did not reply, so Blaine took the chance to call out his pride and joy, Magmortar.
"Blaine. Blaine is my name," he finally said, and Magmortar aimed one of its turret arms at the girl. "And if you are looking for trouble, I am more than capable of giving you some. An attack against Cinnabar Island is an attack against me."
The girl took out a Poké Ball as well, "I know you. You're a Gym Leader."
Blaine grinned. "That's right… I can see you're a Pokémon Trainer. So, you come for a battle?"
"Yeah! I challenge you!" the girl yelled. "1 on 1! For the Badge!"
"Fine, but first… your name?"
"My name is Ruri Share!"
"You have the first attack." Blaine gestured.
"Pidgey! Let's go!" Ruri yelled, calling out her Pokémon.
Blaine halted; he had been about to send out Arcanine but this Pidgey was clearly too weak to handle his strongest Pokémon. A quick scan of Pokémon at his belt found the Pokémon he was looking for.
"Slugma, you're up!"
…
Ruri's first battle was also her first loss.
Blaine had chosen his weakest Pokemon, but had still won.
The girl lay, panting and wheezing from the damage she herself had taken.
"Well…" Blaine began. "It seems as though I was correct. You are under levelled."
Ruri bowed her head, she knew he was right, but that didn't make it any easier.
"Training is what you need," he nodded. "I recommend starting from Brock's Pewter Gym, as he is famed for… going easy on beginners…"
Ruri bit her tongue, preventing herself from biting back. After all, she was a beginner, like it or not. And she didn't like it.
"Nonetheless," the Gym Leader nodded. "I was impressed by your courage. Your strategy of throwing yourself into the path of enemy attacks, whilst unorthodox, is one of the best I have seen. However… I'm a little rusty on the rules of Pokemon Battles… you might not get away with that in any more battles…"
Ruri stood up, grabbing the Poke Ball she had returned her Pidgey to, and walked back to the North side of Cinnabar Island.
"Hey, wait a minute! How did you get past all of the Trainers on Route 21?"
"I deafened them…"
"How?"
"By yelling…" Ruri hopped down onto a small silver jet ski with "Share" written on the side in fancy gold writing.
Blaine made a mental note at that point to change banks to the "Share Holders".
As she zoomed away, Ruri thought back on Blaine's words, and nodded to herself. The battle had explained why so many trainers decided to start with that Gym. With the Pewter Gym.
…
Author's Note: Okay, I'll be honest here. This chapter is filler. I had had plans to develop this chapter and make it into an emotional turmoil for Ruri's Pidgey, but I decided against it. In fact, in this draft of the story (cos I've already mentioned how many times I've rewritten this thing), this chapter was not supposed to exist. But I'm really proud of that thing about sleep in the beginning, so that's the main reason it stayed.
The only thing I'm not really proud of in this story is the battle. I always do that, don't I? But yeah, I figure that if a battle is going to be left out, it can't be one of Brown's. He is the main character after all.
No, actually, that's not the only thing I'm not proud of. I wanted to make the note that was seen in the Pokemon Mansion to look really professional and done by a top scientist or something. But I feel I've failed with that.
Now that I look back on this chapter, it feels like it's less about Ruri and more about Blaine… and then less about Blaine and more about the volcano… but yeah, whatever.
Next chapter: Jordan's rematch!
