"When Words Fail"

I've never been so scared in my life.

It's a feeling I don't like admitting to have. I'm Gary Oak and I'm not supposed to be afraid. But I was, and once again, it was all due to a girl. Hah, I never thought it would come down to a girl. Maybe the possibility of loosing again at the League Games, or even loosing to Ash, but that a girl could bring up such an emotion? Not possible.

It shouldn't have been, possible for me to be afraid that is, but being on that island and watching Cirrus running away from me and then seeing her vanish from sight scared me. I thought she'd teleported or something. With Cirrus, you could never be too sure, not with what she...what we all have been through.

It was confusing, disturbing, to me that she would think I would lie to her. The fact was that I couldn't lie to her. I should know, I've tried. The act of leaving her, alone and hurt, on that island was the worse thing I'd done in my life.

"Be careful."

She really should listen to her own advice, but I knew she wouldn't. She was worried about me for some reason. I didn't want to go back to Pallet, but Gramps needed me. You know what I did, when I left her in the Center? I smirked at her and said I could handle anything. Maybe I can lie to her. I hope I never have to make a choice to leave her alone like that again.

"Are you going to Saffron City, sir?"

The voice jolted me from my reverie. Looking up, I saw a train employee staring at me. "Yes, I am." Showing him my pass, I walked past as if I owned the magnet train. The inside of the train was very posh, with wide aisles and recliner-type seats. It only took about a half-hour to get to Saffron, much faster than the normal means of travel. I took a window seat and sat down. A dark haired guy was sitting in the row across from me and his blue eyes glittered like ice.

Something about him felt wrong, but I stared out the window, trying to piece together my thoughts. Cirrus, always you. Visions of golden eyes bore into my mind and the sound of her laughter rang in memory. It was true that she brought out the best in me and I felt like I'd been waiting for someone like her...for a very long time. The doors closed then and the train staff walked around, making sure we were comfortable.

Officer Jenny had been at the Pokemon Center when I ran into it that night. The night I left Cirrus on that damn island. I still don't know why I went there and not to a human hospital, but I did. Officer Jenny was true to her job and sent out a team of five Officers to the island. They searched the area I took them to, but Cirrus was no where to be found. There were signs that she'd been there, signs of a Pokemon battle too. Three of her Pokeballs were found lying at the base of the hill, sparking and very damaged, the Pokemon inside were trapped. The Officers' Growlithe team found the other two, and that was all we found.

They had to drag me away. Me. Pokemon Master, dragged away like...like someone who'd lost his girlfriend.

Life is good.

Her voice echoed in my mind. It was one of the first things she said after we found each other, again. I smiled, remembering just how good, how right it felt to have her around me again.

The train shivered around me and suddenly, we were moving down the track, towards Kanto. It would take seconds for me to re-capture the Gyarados and then I'd be going back to Johto. One part of Gramps' message was disturbing though, something he sent over with the Vid-phone call, and a fax...it had me worried.

The paper I took out was a full color fax of a photo. It showed a clearing, well cared for and obviously visited often by people. It was a meditative center, of sorts, with a small reflection pool. What bothered me were the concentric rings of flowers in the center of the photo. Flowers of all colors: Reds, pinks, whites, violets; some were trampled flat and others were crushed by bits of pink stone.

Pink marble to be exact.

Gramps wasn't sure why he sent it to me, he said it was a gut feeling. Instinct was something he never ignored and lucky me, I would have to tell Cirrus. I wasn't afraid of her reaction, more like, the epic war that would take place because of some shattered pink rock.

Whether Xanady had escaped, or if someone or something had blasted the ex-scientist now statue to bits, that's what we had to find out. Xanady couldn't be allowed to run loose, she was far too dangerous.

"Excuse me," a male voice broke into my thoughts. "Do you know what time it is?"

I looked up to see the dark-haired man. "Yeah, it's about 3:30."

The man nodded and turned to some papers in his lap. I stared, unashamed, taking in his features. He looked to be a few years older than me, but he had such an aura of power that I turned away after a moment.

The pack I carried with me held Cirrus' Pokeballs. For some reason, she wanted me to personally take them to Gramps. I don't know why, girls are strange, I guess. You won't hear me saying that around Cirrus, but it's definitely true about her.

A voice came over the loudspeaker, letting us know that we'd just crossed over into Kanto, when the train stopped dead. The sound of metal on concrete was a loud screech that sounded like a wounded animal as the train landed roughly onto the emergency tracks, tossing those that weren't seated like dolls. I was one of them and I saw stars as my head hit off the wall. The train settled with a groan and I took in a deep breath. I was now on the train's floor, my back against the wall, just under the window. I gripped the seats armrests and shakily got back into my seat. My head was starting to ache and I knew it would be foolish to think I was uninjured.

Moments later, the voice came on again, a bit shaky, to let us know the train was stabilized and that help was on its way. Passengers were crying out and starting to get panicky. Train attendants were walking around, helping those in need. One paused by my seat and handed me a damp washcloth. I took it, stupidly wondering why, when I felt something tracking down the left side of my temple. I knew it was blood before I put the washcloth against my temple. It stung and I took the cloth away, surprised at the amount of blood on it, crimson against the white of the fabric.

I heard chuckling from my right and when I looked over, I saw the man standing up. Papers fell from his lap and I saw they were blank. Blue power, like that of a psychic Pokemon, lit his eyes and the power fairly dripped like tears. He raised his arms and a blue glow extended from his arms, to the ceiling and then completely engulfing the train cabin.

The power streamed away from him in a wash of blue energy. It was like watching Cirrus fighting Xanady all over again. The energy had circled him like a hula-hoop before shooting away from him. When it hit me, I had been looking for a way to hide, to run, when I found I couldn't move and my body tingled. I could see the energy returning to him and when it passed a person, that person disappeared in a shower of white sparkles.

No one screamed, hollered, or cried. It was impossible to move, to vocalize; there was simply no escape.

When the wave hit me, I was afraid; for me, Cirrus, even Ash. But feelings were a moot point as darkness, and not a bright white light, swept over me and I knew no more.

For once, words had failed me.