A/N: Hello readers! Sayjay-chan would like to thank you guys for making this fanfiction one of my most popular ones ever! As of now it's got 2,239 hits and 19 reviews, and those are super spectacular stats! You guys make me so happy, especially now that I'm in school and doing homework and stuff. Give yourselves a pat on the back!
The Ongoing Saga of Emi Hana
Chapter 29
Emi rode on Swellow, and Erin and Rich rode on Butterfree across the island and to the Pokemon Center. Upon landing in front of the Pokemon Center and dismounting the flying pokemon, our favorite trio found themselves surrounded by people, all demanding to know if they had beaten Yukika.
"They-" Emi started to say before getting nudged in the side by Rich.
"No, we lost." Erin lied, looking like she might cry. They all sighed and disappeared as quickly as they had come.
"Why couldn't I tell them you two won?" Emi questioned quietly as they walked inside the red roofed building. She was slightly annoyed from being cut off.
"Emi, people kill for a spot in this competition. They wouldn't have any problem ripping those badges from our cold, dead, flawless fingers." Rich explained, sounding as if he was talking to a third grader who didn't understand something simple. Emi rolled her eyes but didn't reply; she wasn't in the mood for arguing. Especially since she was preparing herself mentally for the secret task she had at hand.
"Hello. I'm sorry to hear about you lost to Yukika. May I take your Pokemon?" Nurse Joy asked kindly, smiling a twin smile to all the other Nurse Joy's Emi had ever seen.
"It's all good, and thanks." Rich stated as he and Erin handed over their pokeballs.
"This won't take long." Nurse Joy promised before walking away.
"So what island should we visit next?" Erin probed.
"Can I pick this time?" Emi butted in. Rich looked surprised, but nodded.
"Sure. Which one did you have in mind?" he remained silent as Emi voiced her opinion.
"I think we should go to Mushi Island." Emi replied with authority.
"Oh yeah? Why do you want to go there?" Erin wanted to know. At this Emi's assertiveness faded somewhat.
"Well, uh, I think you two should beat that gym leader because…because it's going to be really hard, and when you defeat it you'll see that you can do anything!" she ended somewhat dramatically. Though she never would admit it, she only picked Mushi Island because it was the first one that popped into her head.
"That's true; both our pokemon are going to really struggle against Kumo's bug types…" Rich pondered on it awhile longer before agreeing that Mushi Island would be an acceptable next step.
"I guess we'd have to face him sometime." Erin sighed, not looking forward to such an insanely impossible task. Nurse Joy came back then, holding a pokeball in each hand.
"Here you go dears; your pokemon are as good as new!" the doctor smiled and bowed.
"Thanks again Nurse Joy!" Erin and Rich greeted in unison before taking their pokemon back and pocketing them.
"Onward we go!" Emi dashed ahead, dragging Rich and Erin outside by the wrist.
"Emi, why the hurry?" they demanded to know.
"I'm not hurrying, you two just walk waaaay too slow!" The brunet girl tapped her foot impatiently.
"Well, you know we have to go back through that cave to get to the boat dock, right?" Rich remarked, smirking when Emi's mouth dropped open in horror. Erin sighed again and shook her head and away they went. Emi gulped as they were submerged in the cave's familiar darkness.
"I swear on my brother's grave, I will not trip over a-" Emi started to mumble before tripping over Geodude.
"Oh come on!" Emi cried out, her teeth brown with dirt.
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
The traveling trio of trainers exited the cave, Emi miraculously alive. She seemed to be a better sport about it this time, although her face sported a few new cuts and bumps. They found a boat that was willing to take them to Mushi Island and away they sailed.
When they arrived, an island much unlike Kouzan met their eyes. Forests, thick with green vegetation, lined every free inch of space. Flowers stood tall and proud on the ground, their pleasantly sweet odors wafting and mixing with the salty smell of the ocean.
"So pretty!" Emi commented to no one in particular.
"It sure is." Rich and Erin replied anyway. The boat came to a stop, and Emi and her friends found themselves surrounded by what seemed to be as many people as on Naku Island.
"Why are there so many people?" Erin jumped to the side as a tall man pushed by, causing her to knock into a young woman. Grumbles and complains could be heard, and Erin quickly apologized.
"Haven't you heard the news?" One kid nearby fell into pace beside Rich as they walked onto Mushi land.
"Kumo claims to have seen a shadow Lugia, and until he finds out what it's doing around here he won't battle anybody! Nobody's even seen him in like a week!" the kid answered with such certainty that they believed him.
"If you want to stick around and wait him out, you have to find a hotel room. I'd go now if I were you; all the rooms will be full soon!" with that final word of advice the kid ran off.
"Whoa, I wonder if Kumo knows anything yet?" Erin gasped.
"No. Kumo is a man of action; if he knew something, he'd go out and try to help Lugia." Rich shook his head and tapped his chin.
"I suppose, if you want, we can try to get a room and find a way to talk with Kumo…" he suggested, knowing full well what the answer would be.
"Of course we want to! This could be a chance to help Lugia!" Emi and Erin wailed in unison.
"Tell you what, how about you two go try to find us a room and I'll see if I can find any information on Kumo's whereabouts." Emi proposed.
"Are you sure? This place is pretty busy… we don't want to get lost." Rich pointed out.
"It'll be all good; if we do, I can have Gardevoir track either of you down." Emi smiled before waving goodbye and walking away.
"Bye, I guess…" Their voices trailed off as Emi edged around a sea of people. She walked into a thatch of woods, just far enough so no one could see her.
"Gardevoir, come on out." Emi whispered, kneeling down on the earthy ground. Gardevoir appeared and mimicked her trainer's position.
'Miss Emi, why are we alone in the middle of a wooded area?' the pokemon asked telepathically.
'Gardevoir, I need to ask you a favor.' Emi told her pokemon what she wanted done, and when her words were spoken Gardevoir looked enraged.
'I'd sooner eat my own head!' Gardevoir roared, fire licking the edges of her thoughts.
"Gardevoir, I'm begging." Emi pleaded, bowing her head and folding her hands as if in prayer.
"Just do this one thing for me! Please!" the girl looked up and saw her pokemon wasn't convinced.
'Miss Emi, it will only bring us pain. I won't allow such things to burden you any longer!' Gardevoir remained defiant.
"But Gardevoir, this could be a matter of life and death!" Emi whined.
'Yes, a matter of life and death of your emotional state perhaps!' the psychic pokemon watched her trainer groan in annoyance.
'Fine, then I command that you do it. I'm your trainer, you have to obey my orders' Emi thought half-heartedly.
'Your father is the one who caught me, and at any time I could choose to go under his orders.' Gardevoir thought back stubbornly.
'But that would mean you wouldn't be my pokemon anymore. Besides, you know you need me just as much as I need you.' Emi blinked her big blue eyes at Gardevoir, and the pokemon's spirit wavered. Emi knew it, too.
'Why exactly do you want me to do this again?' Gardevoir sighed, not looking happy about the situation.
'I just want you to see if you can peek into Gina or her idiotic baka of a brother's heads to see if either of them know of any plans the Sinaps might be forming. I'm sure Zak has something in mind for poor Lugia, and I need to make sure it doesn't happen.' Emi explained.
'You're sure it has nothing to do with…Kyo and the part of you that still wishes everything he said was a joke?' Gardevoir hesitated, watching Emi's lower lip tremble.
'Gardevoir, you have to understand that I've come to terms with that. I just want to help Lugia. Nothing more, nothing less.' Emi hurried to think, her words somewhat true. Gardevoir knew there was a faint white fib located in that sentence, but she let it slide.
'Okay, I'll try. But don't get mad if I can't. I'm still experimenting with my new powers.' Gardevoir reminded her trainer. Emi held onto Gardevoir's hands and they both closed their eyes, a faint purple pinkish color glowing around the pokemon.
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
Five figures huddled around an open campfire, the sky above them dark and covered in a blanket of stars. They were clumped together off the side of a flowered road. Two of the figures were the Tunny twins, the other three Zak, Connor, and Jake.
"I heard Carl got caught right outside of Sunnyshore City today. S.S. goons saw him and grabbed him, in broad daylight of all things." Gina said quietly. Silence followed her statement.
"You know, one of the new recruits who successfully stole that pair of Chikorita?" She prompted.
"I know who Carl is." Zak snapped. Kyo, who had been staring into the deepest part of the fire, looked up suddenly.
"Don't talk to my sister like that." He warned sharply.
"Carl was young…he had potential." Connor sighed, poking at the dirt sadly. Zak punched the ground in front of him.
"Will Jaaku never be satisfied? Must he take every pawn that I foolishly placed in battle?" Zak hung his head, and Gina made a sympathetic face.
"You didn't know, Zak-"
"Gina, don't. Please, my mind can't take it." Zak's shoulders deflated as he took a deep breath.
"We have to leave soon, you know. This is the first place Jaaku will look for us if he reads our files." Jake added, though it wasn't relevant.
"He might try to look in our old home first." Connor argued.
"Well I'm not leaving. It'll be a cold day in my parent's graves when I bow down to Jaaku." Gina growled.
"We've been over this, Gina. We're leaving as soon as it's safe to travel by water. Our flying pokemon can't handle such a distance between Sinnoh and any of the other regions." Kyo glared at his sister.
"The other S.S. leaders are doing the same thing as Jaaku. We won't be any safer in another region then we are right here outside Floraroma Town." Gina debated.
"Shut it, will you?" Jake hissed at Connor, the two in their own little argument like always.
"Why don't all four of you shut it?" Zak death glared each of his companions.
"Don't be so grouchy just because you're hiding out like an actual criminal and not safe inside a warm bed located in some stupid Sinaps base." Kyo muttered, not quite wanting Zak to hear that phrase.
"You're just as grouchy! And all because you acted like a jerk with your girlfriend!" Zak shot back. Kyo looked like he could have slugged the blond man sitting before him.
"You know as well as anybody I had no choice but to let her go!" Kyo fought to keep his voice from rising.
"Pez said-!"
"Why would you listen to Pez, anyway?" Jake interrupted suddenly.
"Yeah, you know he's nothing but a creeper." Connor added. Kyo looked away.
"I already told you guys, Pez showed up on Naku Island and told me about Jaaku's purges. He said that if any ex-Sinaps refused to work for Jaaku, he used their families and friends as blackmail. That, and then tortured both parties. I couldn't let that happen to Emi or Rich…" Kyo sniffed, wishing he didn't have to talk about something that obviously pained him to the core of his being.
"They would have understood, Kyo. Emi and Rich could have helped you." Gina put an arm around her brother.
"You know what they're like, Gina. They would have panicked and tried to get me to come to their houses, thus endangering their families. I don't want anyone to have to suffer because me, assuming Jaaku manages to hunt me down. Ending it like that was kinder, for them at least." Kyo fell silent.
"I'll never let Jaaku find you, Kyo. He can fling me into the fiery pit of a volcano for all I care; I'll track him down and haunt him for the rest of his days should something happen to my friends." Gina's temper flared momentarily. Her empty stomach proved not to be much of a fuel source, and the angry flame died.
"I don't want to end up like Carl. I know I don't want to serve Jaaku, but…I-I don't want to die either…" Connor shivered despite the heat from the fire. Jake stared at his purple-eyed friend. Zak looked up then, and spoke to Gina.
"What else have you heard? Anything about that Lugia?" he barked quietly.
"Nothing besides a rumor that a gym leader in the Naku Islands has spotted it." Gina reported.
"Darn…his dream's just within reach and there's nothing I can do about it…" Zak and the rest of the picture suddenly turned black as the connection between them and Gardevoir was broken.
'Miss Emi, wha-?' Gardevoir needn't finish her sentence. She saw some odd colors and fell down to the ground, her head resting beside her fallen trainer. A flash of red, blue, white, and black scrambled to carry the two out of sight before anyone noticed.
As they were dragging Emi and her psychic pokemon away, a single pokeball fell from her backpack. Moments after the group disappeared, the pokeball opened and there sat Skitty, meowing in confusion.
"Miss Emi?" She cried, finding herself alone.
A/N: Alright, we're cutting into the crust of the action now! Thanks to Gardevoir's psychic abilities Emi was able to learn a little bit about the Sinaps' situation, though it may have not made much sense. Yet. And now Skitty is without her trainer! And Rich and Erin have no idea what happened! Keep waiting for an update, because I know you're going to want one now!
