The two girls stood in shock for a while before Katori recovered first. With a wave of her hand, both were quickly on the helicopter and a safe distance away. Kari shook her head, snapping herself out of it as she rushed over to Choco, checking her friend's condition.
Choco seemed fine; her tears had slowed from pouring down her face, and instead flowed down in small waterfalls. She clung onto Sean as if she was holding on for her life. Her friend had arrived at the perfect time.
"Choco? Are you ok?" asked Sean softly.
Her eyes watered again as she buried her face in his chest, using his shirt to wipe her constant tears,
"I'm scared, I'm scared I'm scared I'm scared!"
Kari's eyes turned sympathetic at the small girl, it wasn't right to expose her to such things. She laid a hand on Choco's back, soothing her softly. Her sniffles slowed as she looked up again, smiling weakly at her three friends,
"I'll be alright," she said.
"Really? Are you sure you're ok? Don't push it, we'll give you some time," offered Chris.
Choco shook her head,
"I'm fine, really."
Kari nodded slowly as Sean let go of her,
"If you say so."
The wind picked up again as they turned to the source. The flying Pokemon landed as Sakura and King landed in front of the alley. Immediately they rushed towards the four.
"Choco, are you ok?" asked King.
Choco smiled, a real genuine smile,
"You guys have no idea how many times I've been asked that."
"Hey, we care for ya, or else what are friends for?" said Sakura, punching her friend lightly on the arm.
Choco giggled, putting out her arms around the shoulders of the two other girls and facing the rest of the group,
"You guys are the bestest friends ever!"
-------------------------------------
After getting some new clothes for Choco, they settled on keeping the rest of the day easy, and her gym battle would be tomorrow. The day passed by quickly, and Sean was back in the group. After hanging out a while in the PokeCenter, Choco sniffled a yawn,
"Well, I'm off to sleep, see ya guys tomorrow!"
Sean retired to bed next soon followed by Sakura and King. Chris got up,
"I'm going to get a drink, want something?"
Kari smiled at her friend and shook her head,
"No thanks, I'll be right here."
Chris nodded at Kari before walking away. Kari stared at the glowing embers of the fireplace, warming the PokeCenter at night. She let a soft sigh escape her lips as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back onto the chair cushion as her thoughts wandered. Suddenly, Katori's image appeared her head. She let out another sigh as abruptly, a voice startled her, opening her eyes to meet familiar green ones.
"Chris, you scared me!"
Chris laughed as he watched her pouted at him before crossing her arms, glaring at him. Moving a chair next to her, he glanced at her,
"Thinking about Katori?" he asked.
Kari looked away,
"No," she lied.
"Come on, I know you were. Wanna talk about it?" asked Chris.
Kari looked at her best friend for a while. Finally, giving up in defeat, she slumped down in her chair as she started to tell the story of what she remembered.
--------------Kari's story---------------
"Sis, come on, let's go to the park. Please, before you leave?" asked eight-years-old Kari as she begged her older sister.
Katori laughed at her younger sister,
"Fine, only for a while, I'm excited to start my journey with the Swablu dad gave me."
"Thanks! You're the best!"
The two said good-bye to their parents, rushing along the soft Cherrygrove summer air. Katori let out her Pokemon, letting it enjoy the fresh air.
"Swa!" it cried flapping its wings.
"Wow, a Swablu. Doesn't it evolve into a dragon Pokemon?" asked Kari, staring at the cotton Pokemon.
"Yup, I'm going to go around, collecting flying and Dragon Pokemon," said Katori.
They played around with Swablu for a while, and when the sun was starting to set, Katori said,
"Well, Kari, you should get home, I'll start and when I get to Violet Town I'll give you a call, okay?"
Kari nodded at her older sister,
"Promise?"
"Promise."
--------------End of story--------------
"But she never called us, I waited for days, weeks, but the phone never rang. I haven't heard from her since," concluded Kari.
Her eyes glazed up, and she turned away from him, facing the flames as a single tear dropped.
"Hey, don't cry," said Chris, placing his hand under her chin and turning her head towards him.
Kari took a shaky breath and calmed down. She gave a small smile,
"I really am starting to become a lot like Choco aren't I?"
Chris smiled, his eyes twinkling with amusement,
"Maybe, but she's different, unique. She's the fire orb bearer."
"I know, you've reminded me a million times. But I can't help but wonder who the water orb bearer is," said Kari.
Now it was Chris' turn to turn away,
"I know who it is. Remember, opposites are attracted."
Kari looked at him in confusion. Suddenly, her eyes widened,
"No way…"
------------------------------------
The next morning was bright and sunny, almost as if to tell them to forget their troubles. Choco stood in front of the last gym, looking up at the fire sign. It shouldn't be that much trouble, especially since she had Dragon Pokemon. But if she had learned one thing during her travels, it was to not underestimate gym leaders; she had almost lost to Koga that way.
The Viridian Gym had moved to Lavender Town, so if she beat this, she was headed towards the League, then the Elite Four, and then the Champion of Kanto. It seemed so fast, like yesterday she had just met her friends, started her journey with Ichigo.
She pushed open the door, immediately noticing the heat wave inside. Certainly not very comfortable, especially in the middle of summer.
"Are ya gonna stand there all day or go inside?" came Sakura's voice.
"But its so hot inside…" complained Choco.
Finally, she entered, looking for the gym leader. An old man in the back caught her attention,
"Excuse me, do you know where the gym leader is?"
Behind her, Sean and Sakura both slapped their heads at the same time. The old man looked up,
"I am the gym leader here."
Choco got a clear view of him now. He wore a white lab suit, with a huge matching white mustache and glasses.
"Oh, really? Then I challenge you to a gym battle," said Choco.
The man nodded, calling out the judge as the stood face to face. The judge pressed a button, and the field in front of them flipped around, turning into molten lava with few platforms (kinda like the one in Cerulean, except for the water is lava).
"This is a one on one battle, Gym Leader Blaine against Choco Ketchum, BEGIN!"
Blaine reached for his pokeball, letting out his Pokemon first. A Charizard materialized, giving a huge roar as it flapped its massive wings and rose into the air.
"Go Crystal!"
An elegant Dragonair followed the suit, rising into the air. The Pokemon stared at each other, trying to find a weakness. The judge waved up the flags, and the two started to call out attacks:
"Charizard, use Seismic Toss!"
"Crystal, stay where you are, let Charizard pick you up!"
Crystal nodded, watching as Charizard came closer, its claws outstretched to grab it. Rising into the air with the Dragon Pokemon, Charizard looped around, forming a circle, like a globe.
"Now, Crystal, use Twister!"
The Dragonair sent out a cry as particles of leaves, seeds, etc rose, and using Charizard's spinning, formed itself into a surrounding circle.
"She's using the seismic toss to her advantage," said Kari, amazed,
"Charizard, look out! Land!"
To Blaine's frustration, Charizard couldn't see in the circle of debris, taking huge amounts of damage. It blindly set a diving course, and its knowledge of the field saved it from too much harm, landing safely on a platform.
Crystal retreated back to its side, glaring at the fire lizard. Blaine looked at the dragon, and an idea came to mind,
"Charizard, another Seismic toss!"
"Crystal, do what you did last time!"
Again, particles surrounded the two, but this time, Blaine had a plan. He looked up at Charizard, taking some damage, but all in all fine, and same with Crystal.
"Now, use Flamethrower!"
Charizard let out another roar, and this time, flames lit the circle, and since the particles were flammable, a whirlwind of fire surrounded the circle. Charizard opened its eyes, going faster as the flames whipped stronger. Choco looked worriedly at her Pokemon, but she couldn't think of anything to save it.
"Crystal, try to break free!" she called out helplessly.
Crystal gritted its teeth (or something like that) and closed its eyes. Suddenly, it turned white as Charizard let go of it, startled. Its figure changed, becoming more of a bigger Pokemon, and wings sprouted from its back. A new Dragonite appeared, giving a roar as it returned to battle.
"Crystal evolved!" Choco pulled out her PokeDex, and it beeped as info about the Pokemon came out:
Dragonite, the Dragon Pokemon, is an extremely rare marine Pokemon. It is said to match the intelligence of humans.
"Crystal, do you think you can continue?"
Her Dragonite nodded rising into the air with new energy.
"Use Rain Dance!"
A cloud surrounded the field, and small drizzles poured out. Charizard's wing flew in front of its tail, protecting it.
"Now, use Surf!"
A huge wave whooshed towards Charizard, and Blaine called,
"Charizard, get out of there!"
"Crystal, don't let Charizard move, use Leer!"
Crystal gave a sharp glare, reducing Charizard's defense as Charizard froze, allowing it to get hit with the Surf, and faint. Blaine returned his Pokemon and laughed,
"Well, haven't gotten quite a battle like that for years, not since your father came and beat me. Good job, you deserve this badge."
He dropped the Volcano Badge into Choco's hand,
"Thank you sir!"
Blaine nodded and the six left the gym, getting ready to face the Pokemon League next. But unknown to them, there were greater challenges along the way, ones that a small mistake could be the difference of life and…death.
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Pokebunny: Whew! Longest chappie so far! Well, thanks for reading and please review! Oh, and to akkiangel: your character's in the next chappie!
Chocolate: what she's trying to say is to review please! PLEASE! For every review, I get a piece of chocolate, so PLEASE REVIEW!