Lyra stood upon Mount Silver. She stared at Red and he stared back at her. He blinked twice while he glanced at his fainted pikachu. Her heart was racing and she felt tears in her eyes. It was a very difficult battle and she couldn't believe she won. She bit her lip and Red scoffed before taking his leave. She looked at her pidgeot and decided to run home and share the news of her hard won battle.

On the back of her pidgeot she felt the wind in her face and her tears of joy streaming down her cheeks while she cried out in victory. She couldn't wait to tell her best friend, Ethan, about her victory. First the Elite Four and now Red? Her loving and caring training paid off and it showed through the performance of her team.

She landed in front of her house and ran to Ethan's home.

"Ethan!" She cried happily as she ran to his door.

She quickly knocked on his door and called to him again.

"Ethan! Ethan, guess what!"

The door opened and he stared at her with wide eyes. He saw how frantic and frazzled she looked.

"What happened?" He asked worriedly.

"I did it! I beat Red in a battle!" She exclaimed excitedly.

Her brunette friend stared at her and tried to find his words. He watched his friend grow from a beginner, barely fighting wild rattatas, to Pokémon Champion. He nodded in approval and opened his arms to hug her.

"Congratulations! I'm so proud of you!" He said excitedly.

"Yeah it was so difficult I thought I was going to lose. Thank you so much!"

"This calls for a victory cake, c'mon I'll treat you. It's the least I could do before I leave."

Lyra stared at him when she heard him. She bit her lip and crossed her arms. He saw the look she was giving him and he nervously scratched the back of his head.

"Leaving?" She asked finally after some silence.

"Um…, yeah I meant to tell you but you've been out for a while," he replied awkwardly.

"Where are you going?"

"Well I'm actually headed to Sinnoh. You know I uh…, I got in contact with an old friend and I wanted to hang out with her for a bit. I have a family member who can put me up for a while so I figured hey why not, it might be good for me to get out for a bit."

"Sinnoh? Ugh Ethan! That's so far!"

"Yeah I know Lyra, I'll be gone for a while okay. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I got kinda busy with packing and everything."

"Packing? When are you leaving?"

Ethan invited her in while they spoke with each other. He tossed his hat to the side and sat down on his couch with her. She waited for him to answer her question while he put his feet up.

"Um… tomorrow," he replied nervously.

"What!? Tomorrow!?"

"Err…, yeah. Hey listen, I uh wanted to let you know that I'll be gone for a while. Several months even."

Lyra sat up and placed her hands on her cheeks.

"Several months!?"

"Yes. I'll be back Lyra. I'll always come back of course, this is my home."

Lyra let out a huge sigh while she threw herself into the couch pillows. She groaned in frustration and her friend awkwardly chuckled at her reaction. He leaned closed to her and grabbed her hand.

"Hey c'mon it won't be so bad. I'll even send you some cool gifts. What do you say huh? I'll send postcards and I'll make sure to email and text you as much as I can. This is a great opportunity for me to go on a journey of self discovery. It'll be cool and as far as I'm concerned there's still a lot of Kanto you haven't quite discovered."

"Yeah I suppose you're right. But you know, Ethan, Valentine's day is a few weeks from now and I always spend it with you. Who am I gonna spend it with while you're gone?" Lyra asked tiredly.

Ethan stood up and flicked her nose.

"With your pokemon obviously," he said jokingly while chuckling.

"Pfft yeah right. Just give me your address and we can send each other cards."

"Sounds good. I'll find you a big mushy card that expresses my undying love and friendship for you."

Lyra cracked a smile and threw the couch pillow at him.

"Shut up, no you won't you goof," she replied playfully.

"Yeah I will. I'll prove you wrong. Wait till you get it in the mail. You'll wish you never doubted me."

"Alright fine then I'll send you some gross card too."

"Good. Wanna go get that cake? C'mon I've been craving something sweet all day."

Lyra nodded and he helped her up from the couch. The two made their way out of his house and headed towards the store to buy cake. The two friends decided to enjoy it at Ethan's home. They sat together, laughing and joking the entire time while enjoying their cake and drinks. Lyra felt a sort of sad melancholy feeling looming over her despite Ethan being his usual cheerful self. She let out a sad sigh while she picked up the last piece of her cake with her fork.

"I'm gonna really miss you," she muttered softly.

Ethan looked up at her and gave her a sad smile. He poked her nose and tried to cheer her up.

"Hey I'll miss you too, but I won't be gone long. It'll go by super fast, you'll see. One minute I'm gone and the next I'm here. How do you think I felt when you first set off on your journey?"

Lyra's shoulders slumped and she sighed loudly.

"Yes but Ethan we regularly caught up with each other and on top of that you would call me all the time. We also live close to each other."

"Well I'll keep calling you. We can call each other and stuff and hey maybe when I get back I'll be strong enough to challenge you in a Pokemon battle."

Lyra shrugged sadly. Ethan poked her again.

"I promise it'll go by fast."

"Yeah okay…"

"I'm sure in the meantime you'll find someone else to hang out with."

Lyra scoffed and rolled her eyes. She glanced at her friend and gave him a frown.

"Like who?" she asked.

"I dunno…, like Joey?"

"Ha."

Lyra sat up and finally ate that last piece that had been sitting on her fork. She enjoyed that last taste of her victory and now had to cope with her new loss. She took a good look at Ethan and lamented over this being their last meal together.

The next morning Lyra helped Ethan with his bags and stood with him at the docks. She looked at the large ship and let out a somber sigh. Ethan opened his arms and made a motion with his head as if to tell her to hug him. She giggled and raised her eyebrow.

"C'mon, bring it in," he said playfully.

She sniffled a bit and walked up to him. He hugged her tightly and made sure to squeeze her. She gripped his shirt and squeezed him back. They parted and she let out another sigh. Ethan flicked her nose and gave her a confident smile.

"I'll text you okay," he said finally.

"Sure, let me know when you get off the ship alright? Be safe."

"Mmhm. Well I better get on before it leaves me. I'll see you in a few months and if plans change I'll let you know alright. There are no goodbyes between us, Lyra."

Lyra giggled and tried to keep her head up. She nodded firmly and hugged him one last time before she let him board.

"See you when you get back, good luck!" she called to him as he walked off.

He waved at her and she stood at the dock until he disappeared into the ship. She took a deep breath and headed home.

Her walk home made her think about how awful she felt. She rubbed her eyes and kept thinking to herself about how she was going to make those next few months. Her pokemon, Meganium, watched her closely while she walked close to her trainer. She nudged her gently with her head and let out a concerned squeak.

"Oh pfft, I'm okay Meg," Lyra said finally as she patted her pokemon's head.

Meganium tilted her head curiously at her. Lyra chuckled awkwardly and waved off her pokemon. She dragged her feet along and continued to get lost in her thoughts. She couldn't figure out how empty her life was going to be without her best friend. Sure Ethan and her separated for a bit while they discovered the region but at the very least she always knew she could see him if she came home. This time he was gone for a long time and there was no way she could come home and see him. Her heart ached at the thought of this loneliness.

She eventually made it home and her mother greeted her. She gave her mom a sad wave before heading straight to her room. She plopped on her bed and let out a loud sigh. Meganium raised an eyebrow and walked up to her. She nudged her worriedly and made another squeak at her. Lyra turned her head towards her pokemon and gave her a sad smile.

"I don't deserve you, man. I'll be fine, Meg, I'm just sad about Ethan leaving. I know I'm supposed to head over to see Professor Oak but I just…," she trailed off when she heard her phone beep.

She quickly fished for it in her pocket and saw it was a text from Ethan. She smiled to herself and quickly texted him back. The two texted each other back and forth for several hours. Soon enough Lyra felt her stomach growl and she knew it was time she ate lunch. She propped up from her bed and headed towards the kitchen. Meganium followed her excitedly knowing she was going to be having lunch too. She watched her trainer open the refrigerator and she nudged her.

"Oh alright, what do you want?" Lyra asked.

Meganuim walked over to the bag of pokemon food and let out a happy bark. Lyra smirked and nodded.

"Okay, okay, okay, after all Meg always eats first right?" Lyra said jokingly while she grabbed the bowl sitting on the counter.

She quickly filled the bowl and set it down. She watched her pokemon scarf down her food for a moment before she quickly retreated back to the refrigerator to figure out her own lunch.

"You know, Meg, I could easily make some food or I could just go out and eat this somewhere to take my mind off things. Screw it, I'm already dressed and I'm lazy. C'mon, let's go," Lyra said in resolve.

Meganium finished her food and quickly followed Lyra out.

Lyra made it to the Lake of Rage with her pokemon. She found a seat near the lake and went through the small brown bag she brought along. She pulled out a burger and immediately took a bite from it. She sighed with relief when she tasted her food. Meganium watched her eat and lied down next to her. Lyra glanced over at Meganium and smiled to herself. She soon noticed a shadow loom over her and she quickly looked up to meet eyes with someone she did not expect to meet. She wanted to address him but her mouth was full of food. She nervously covered her mouth with her hand while she tried to speak.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I was training my pokemon and I saw you sitting here and figured I'd ask you to battle me," he said firmly.

Lyra looked at her burger and then back at him. She held up her finger at him while she tried to swallow her food.

"You wanna battle me?" she asked after some silence.

"Yes I do, I think I can finally beat you," he said, feeling confident.

"Yeah sure after I'm done eating okay?"

Silver crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. Lyra took another bite from her burger while he watched her.

"Listen, you can always finish your burger later but right now I want to battle you and this is the perfect time to. I can't be out here all day waiting for you to eat," Silver said impatiently.

Lyra shook her head at him.

"Alright, I haven't eaten all morning and this is the first thing I'm having. I've had a very busy morning and you are honestly the last person I want to see right now. So go take a seat and give yourself a pep talk because that's closest to winning you're ever going to get going against me. Alright?" She snapped.

Silver snarled at her remark and he turned towards his pokemon. His typhlosion looked at him and shrugged. He knocked over her bag and her fries had slipped out and fell into the lake. Lyra stared at the floating fries for a moment before she slowly turned her head in his direction. He saw the fierce look in her eyes and he bit his lip knowing he had wronged her. She placed her half eaten burger down and stood up.

"Alright, Silver, it's personal. If you lose this battle you have to buy me food," she demanded angrily.

"Fine and if you lose I don't have to, you have to admit that I'm the best, and you have to kiss my boot," he said firmly with a smirk on his face.

Lyra grabbed the bridge of her nose and decided to raise the stakes.

"Alright fine if you lose you to have to buy me food, pay me back for the money I spent on this meal, and… and um…," she paused for a moment to think about it.

"And what? Be your little friend?" Silver asked jokingly as he mocked her.

She snapped her fingers at him and nodded. "Sure," she said finally.

"Alright you got yourself a deal. I'll show you how much better I am against you," Silver said confidently.

They both shook hands and went to find an open space away from the lake's edge to battle. Silver commanded Typhlosion to be the first to battle. Lyra quickly drew out her furret. He scoffed at her choice and shook his head.

"Oh this is in the bag," he said loudly.

"Yeah okay," Lyra mocked knowingly.

"Alright, Typhlosion use Flamethrower!" Silver yelled.

"Furret dodge it! Counter with Surf!" Lyra called quickly.

Typhlosion quickly blew fire at the furry pokemon. Furret jumped out of the way and quickly leaped into the lake. Typhlosion and Silver both stood back wide-eyed when the water had raised high above them and Furret was riding an extremely large wave straight towards them. Lyra had realized her mistake and the water hit the three of them. Silver struggled against the wave. Lyra paddled towards a tree and grabbed onto it while she watched her rival and his pokemon get swept away by the water. Silver gasped for breath and begged for help. Lyra took a deep breath and decided it was better to save him than to let him drown. She paddled over to him and quickly grabbed his arm. The water quickly died down and she was able to let go of him. They both gasped and panted after the whole ordeal.

Silver looked around for his Typhlosion and found his pokemon had fainted. He grunted angrily and quickly returned him to his poke-ball. He quickly turned towards Lyra with a glare and clenched his fists.

"You taught your furret Surf!? What are you fucking crazy!?" He barked angrily.

Lyra looked up at him and placed her hands on her hips.

"Welp, I win, you owe me food, money, and friendship. By the way here's my receipt," she said playfully as she handed him the soaking wet receipt.

Silver quickly smacked the flimsy wet paper out of her hand. They both watched it fall to the ground. Lyra put her hands on her hips.

"I won against you dude, your typhlosion fainted," Lyra said firmly.

"What!? No! You damn near killed me!"

"I saved your freaking life, Silver! I win, that's that!"

"That is completely unfair, you knew your stupid furret had surf and-"

"And you laughed at me and I won. We made a deal."

Silver crossed his arms and grumbled angrily. Lyra picked up the remains of the receipt and pushed it against Silver's chest.

"Here, you owe me food," she said with a snarky smile on her face while she patted his shoulder.

Silver glared at her and reluctantly followed her back to the restaurant where she had previously bought her lunch. The two teenagers argued and fussed at each other the entire way to their destination. They often stopped to yell at each other over whether or not the battle was fair.

"You've got some nerve thinking that was fair!" Silver snapped.

"It was fair!" Lyra retorted.

"No it wasn't!"

"Yes it fucking was! Also you're the one who kicked my food in the water anyway you heartless jerk! Now look at you, broke and stupid!"

"You want friendship from me!?"

"Well you're the mindless idiot that proposed it and I'm sorry, but the only reason why I accepted it as a condition is to torment you."

"Heh well keep thinking you can torment me but I guarantee you, I am far worse than you."

Lyra rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Oh yeah right, you're the one who's always doom and gloom. See I know how to have fun and you don't so there."

"Oh yeah? I can have a good time, just not with you, loser!"

Lyra narrowed her eyes with a smirk. She chuckled playfully and placed her hands on her hips.

"You? Have a good time? Pfft where? Show me," she said playfully as she flicked his nose.

He covered his nose with his hands and glared at her. She pointed in the direction of the restaurant and smiled at him.

"C'mon sad boy, let's go. You owe me food."

Silver simply continued to glare at her and followed her.

A/N: Be aware this a new version of a story I wrote back in 2012 when I think I was 12/13 or something around that age. The first version is still up if you want to read it but keep in mind it's trash and this version exists just to fix a lot of the things version one did wrong.