Ok, this chapter is sort of weird. You won't get most of the jokes or
anything unless you've somehow read my veeeeeeeeeeery old fic, Your Soul
Will Stay the Same. No, I don't have it post on ff.net, and it will never
be. It sucks. Anyway, that's where these freaky people come from-that fic.
You know, why am I sitting here explaining nothing when you could be reading the next chapter! So read it!
~Chapter Sixteen~
My mouth dropped open. "What?!" I cried. "How can there be someone here? What is this, a club or something?! 'Come see the Confused Dragon Tamer with a zillion dragon Pokemon!' What-"
Danny held his hand up to stop my blabbering. "Look, just go out there. They're just kids, and it looks like they got in here by accident. They don't look like they know WHERE they are or anything."
I bit my lip and then shrugged and walked out of my room. Mystic followed me with a confused look on her face.
I stood at the opposite side of the pool, near Rio. There were four of the kids. One had longish brown hair that was quite dark but not dark enough to be black. She wore a blue and white baseball cap, a dark blue T-shirt with a white vest, jeans, and white sneakers. A Pikachu was gasping for breath near her feet.
The only guy in the whole group, I noticed, had reddish hair and wore a yellow T-shirt and red pants. I winced, since that combination was really bright. The other girl, who had very long blonde hair, was wearing a drenched purple shirt with purple pants and purple sneakers with little red circles coming from the sides-and what looked like miniature WINGS coming from the circles.
Two Espeons were at their feet, trying to lick the mud off of each other. I raised my eyebrows and looked at the last girl, who looked older than the others. She had light brown hair that was in low pigtails, and wore a green shirt, light blue pants, and muddy green boots.
"Uh," I began, "Hello."
The girl with the dark hair looked up, panting. "Ummm. . .hi. Where the heck ARE we?"
The girl with the blonde hair looked up and laughed. She patted the guy on the back. "Look Chris! We got ourselves in the middle of a cave! And you thought this river would lead nowhere!"
The guy-or I guess, Chris-picked up one of the Espeons and stroked its head. He looked around and saw me. "Hey, who's that?"
"Hey," the girl with the dark hair yelled. "Who are you?" Chris laughed. "I could have done THAT, Ashley."
I didn't laugh. I just stared. How did they get here? Would they tell anyone about the den?
"Uhhh. . ." the girl muttered.
I shook my head and blinked. I jogged over to the people. "Sorry," I said. "I'm April. How did you get here?"
I heard Cielo snort and shake his head, but everyone else ignored him.
"Christl-my Espeon-fell in the lake, and he floated away," Chris started to say. "I jumped in after it, and I guess everyone else jumped in after me."
"Yeah, I was worried about him!" the girl with blonde hair smiled. "By the way, I'm Tiffany. Or Tiff."
"I'm Ashley," the girl with dark hair said.
"My name's Suzie," the girl with light brown hair said. (A/N: See, Your Soul Will Stay the Same made fun of Ash, Misty, and Brock. Ashley=Ash, Chris=Misty, and Suzie=Brock [you know, Suzie's the breeder with Vulpix?]. Tiffany was a different character someone created.)
I paused, wondering whether to tell them who I was, since when this little group left, there was a chance they would tell someone about the den. But then I realized I was being stupid. None of these people had even LOOKED at the pool, and barely looked at Cielo or Rio.
"I'm--" I started carefully.
"--I'm wondering how you got here!" Danny suddenly exclaimed behind me. I jumped and turned around.
"They fell in the lake," I explained.
Danny nodded and stared at Suzie, then Ashley, then Chris, then Tiffany, then nodded again.
Just then, Dawn the Dratini leaped out of the pool, making everyone jump in surprise. I noticed Suzie's eyes widen as Dawn slithered over to me. She was holding the globe with the crystal inside.
"Uh," I started, just to direct everyone's attention away from the dragon Pokemon. Ashley stared at me, then at Mystic. "Heeey, can we battle?! I'd love to battle that Dragonair!"
"What? Battle Mystic?" I yelped. I hadn't battled in what felt like YEARS. I wasn't even sure I knew HOW to battle anymore.
"Yeah!" Ashley cried. "Please?"
I looked out to the pool and smiled slyly. "Okay," I agreed. "And, just because you got here by accident, you can choose your opponent."
"Huh?" Ashley, Suzie, Chris, and Tiffany asked at once.
"Well, there are different dragons with different abilities," I explained. "Like Melanie is skilled with fire-type moves. And Sandra is great at water and ice-type moves. And there are plenty of others."
While I was explaining this, I noticed Dawn secretly slither over near Tiffany and Chris, who were holding hands. The crystal glowed bright for a moment and then dimmed. Then she slithered to Ashley, and the crystal glowed so bright I wasn't sure how no one else was noticing it.
"I want the toughest one you got," Ashley replied suddenly.
I blinked and stared at her. "The toughest one?" I laughed. I rubbed Mystic's horn. "THIS one's the toughest one I've got."
Ashley laughed. "A Dragonair? Well how about I battle-" She stopped, looked around, and stared at Rio. "How about that Dragonite?"
I sighed. "Believe me, if you want tough, you're going to get tough. Mystic was my starting Pokemon, and she knows moves you've probably never even heard of."
It was Ashley's turn to blink. "Well, okay," she said. She picked up the Pikachu and whispered something to him. The Pikachu jumped out of her arms and onto the ground, sparks flying out of his cheeks.
"Go, Mystic," I said. Mystic gracefully slithered near the Pikachu and stared evilly at him.
I looked at Ashley. "You can make the first move."
"All right," Ashley grinned. "Pikachu, Thunder Wave!" she exclaimed.
"Reflect," I simply said. Mystic spun around and some sort of energy appeared in front of her. Pikachu tried his Thunder Wave, but it was deflected.
"Whaaaaaa.?" Ashely croaked. Then she cleared her throat and said, "Uh, okay. Thunderbolt, Pikachu!"
Pikachu began to charge electricity, and at first I was worried because Ashley probably had something planned to get past Mystic's reflect. But suddenly, I thought of the perfect way to leave Mystic unscathed.
"Mystic, start charging up an Ultra Beam!" I commanded. She wasted no time and immediately started to glow a rainbow color.
I saw Tiffany stare at Mystic with a strange look on her face. "Ashley's battled some Pokemon with weird strategies and moves before, but I've never even HEARD of an Ultra Beam," she whispered to Chris.
I simply thought, You'll see. You'll all see how special this den is and how special the Pokemon are in it.
Just then, Pikachu let off his Thunderbolt and Mystic's Ultra Beam was ready. She fired a rainbow beam that was colored with fire, electricity, bits of grass, ice, water, and psychic attacks. It hit the Thunderbolt with no problem and then Pikachu dead center. Pikachu fainted.
"Whaaaaa. . .?" Ashley said again. She ran to Pikachu and picked him up. "You tried your best," she said to him. Then she looked up at me. "How did you DO that?"
I looked at the floor, and noticed Dawn once again slither near me and Danny. The crystal ball in her mouth was glowing so bright, I felt like I needed sunglasses.
"Er," I began. "Well, I'm afraid I can't tell you that." I looked up at them. "I'm sorry, but you must leave right now. There's a lot of danger if you stay here any longer. I can't have anyone knowing about this place."
Chris held up his hand. "Oh, we won't tell. We all respect that."
"Yeah," Suzie agreed. I could tell they were being sincere, and smiled. I looked at Ceilo, and he nodded.
"Celio-the Dragonite over there-will show you out," I said, pointing to Ceilo. "Remember, don't ever tell anyone you were here. Forget that battle even happened, Ashley."
She grinned. "I don't know if I can, but I'll try."
I grinned back, and they all walked towards Cielo. The Dragonite opened the door and somehow, the whole group made it out. The door closed with a big band and suddenly, I was alone again.
Well, of course not alone. I had two Dragonites, many Dragonairs, Mystic, and plenty of Dratinis. And of course, Danny.
I sighed and looked around. "Well," I said. "I never did take that nap."
Danny laughed and put his arm around me. "I can only imagine how tired you must be. Here, I'll help you to your room."
I smiled as I watched Mystic jump into the pool with Moerumushi, the handsome Dragonair I kept seeing her with, and Dawn slither away to the bottom of the pool, the crystal ball still in her mouth.
You know, why am I sitting here explaining nothing when you could be reading the next chapter! So read it!
~Chapter Sixteen~
My mouth dropped open. "What?!" I cried. "How can there be someone here? What is this, a club or something?! 'Come see the Confused Dragon Tamer with a zillion dragon Pokemon!' What-"
Danny held his hand up to stop my blabbering. "Look, just go out there. They're just kids, and it looks like they got in here by accident. They don't look like they know WHERE they are or anything."
I bit my lip and then shrugged and walked out of my room. Mystic followed me with a confused look on her face.
I stood at the opposite side of the pool, near Rio. There were four of the kids. One had longish brown hair that was quite dark but not dark enough to be black. She wore a blue and white baseball cap, a dark blue T-shirt with a white vest, jeans, and white sneakers. A Pikachu was gasping for breath near her feet.
The only guy in the whole group, I noticed, had reddish hair and wore a yellow T-shirt and red pants. I winced, since that combination was really bright. The other girl, who had very long blonde hair, was wearing a drenched purple shirt with purple pants and purple sneakers with little red circles coming from the sides-and what looked like miniature WINGS coming from the circles.
Two Espeons were at their feet, trying to lick the mud off of each other. I raised my eyebrows and looked at the last girl, who looked older than the others. She had light brown hair that was in low pigtails, and wore a green shirt, light blue pants, and muddy green boots.
"Uh," I began, "Hello."
The girl with the dark hair looked up, panting. "Ummm. . .hi. Where the heck ARE we?"
The girl with the blonde hair looked up and laughed. She patted the guy on the back. "Look Chris! We got ourselves in the middle of a cave! And you thought this river would lead nowhere!"
The guy-or I guess, Chris-picked up one of the Espeons and stroked its head. He looked around and saw me. "Hey, who's that?"
"Hey," the girl with the dark hair yelled. "Who are you?" Chris laughed. "I could have done THAT, Ashley."
I didn't laugh. I just stared. How did they get here? Would they tell anyone about the den?
"Uhhh. . ." the girl muttered.
I shook my head and blinked. I jogged over to the people. "Sorry," I said. "I'm April. How did you get here?"
I heard Cielo snort and shake his head, but everyone else ignored him.
"Christl-my Espeon-fell in the lake, and he floated away," Chris started to say. "I jumped in after it, and I guess everyone else jumped in after me."
"Yeah, I was worried about him!" the girl with blonde hair smiled. "By the way, I'm Tiffany. Or Tiff."
"I'm Ashley," the girl with dark hair said.
"My name's Suzie," the girl with light brown hair said. (A/N: See, Your Soul Will Stay the Same made fun of Ash, Misty, and Brock. Ashley=Ash, Chris=Misty, and Suzie=Brock [you know, Suzie's the breeder with Vulpix?]. Tiffany was a different character someone created.)
I paused, wondering whether to tell them who I was, since when this little group left, there was a chance they would tell someone about the den. But then I realized I was being stupid. None of these people had even LOOKED at the pool, and barely looked at Cielo or Rio.
"I'm--" I started carefully.
"--I'm wondering how you got here!" Danny suddenly exclaimed behind me. I jumped and turned around.
"They fell in the lake," I explained.
Danny nodded and stared at Suzie, then Ashley, then Chris, then Tiffany, then nodded again.
Just then, Dawn the Dratini leaped out of the pool, making everyone jump in surprise. I noticed Suzie's eyes widen as Dawn slithered over to me. She was holding the globe with the crystal inside.
"Uh," I started, just to direct everyone's attention away from the dragon Pokemon. Ashley stared at me, then at Mystic. "Heeey, can we battle?! I'd love to battle that Dragonair!"
"What? Battle Mystic?" I yelped. I hadn't battled in what felt like YEARS. I wasn't even sure I knew HOW to battle anymore.
"Yeah!" Ashley cried. "Please?"
I looked out to the pool and smiled slyly. "Okay," I agreed. "And, just because you got here by accident, you can choose your opponent."
"Huh?" Ashley, Suzie, Chris, and Tiffany asked at once.
"Well, there are different dragons with different abilities," I explained. "Like Melanie is skilled with fire-type moves. And Sandra is great at water and ice-type moves. And there are plenty of others."
While I was explaining this, I noticed Dawn secretly slither over near Tiffany and Chris, who were holding hands. The crystal glowed bright for a moment and then dimmed. Then she slithered to Ashley, and the crystal glowed so bright I wasn't sure how no one else was noticing it.
"I want the toughest one you got," Ashley replied suddenly.
I blinked and stared at her. "The toughest one?" I laughed. I rubbed Mystic's horn. "THIS one's the toughest one I've got."
Ashley laughed. "A Dragonair? Well how about I battle-" She stopped, looked around, and stared at Rio. "How about that Dragonite?"
I sighed. "Believe me, if you want tough, you're going to get tough. Mystic was my starting Pokemon, and she knows moves you've probably never even heard of."
It was Ashley's turn to blink. "Well, okay," she said. She picked up the Pikachu and whispered something to him. The Pikachu jumped out of her arms and onto the ground, sparks flying out of his cheeks.
"Go, Mystic," I said. Mystic gracefully slithered near the Pikachu and stared evilly at him.
I looked at Ashley. "You can make the first move."
"All right," Ashley grinned. "Pikachu, Thunder Wave!" she exclaimed.
"Reflect," I simply said. Mystic spun around and some sort of energy appeared in front of her. Pikachu tried his Thunder Wave, but it was deflected.
"Whaaaaaa.?" Ashely croaked. Then she cleared her throat and said, "Uh, okay. Thunderbolt, Pikachu!"
Pikachu began to charge electricity, and at first I was worried because Ashley probably had something planned to get past Mystic's reflect. But suddenly, I thought of the perfect way to leave Mystic unscathed.
"Mystic, start charging up an Ultra Beam!" I commanded. She wasted no time and immediately started to glow a rainbow color.
I saw Tiffany stare at Mystic with a strange look on her face. "Ashley's battled some Pokemon with weird strategies and moves before, but I've never even HEARD of an Ultra Beam," she whispered to Chris.
I simply thought, You'll see. You'll all see how special this den is and how special the Pokemon are in it.
Just then, Pikachu let off his Thunderbolt and Mystic's Ultra Beam was ready. She fired a rainbow beam that was colored with fire, electricity, bits of grass, ice, water, and psychic attacks. It hit the Thunderbolt with no problem and then Pikachu dead center. Pikachu fainted.
"Whaaaaa. . .?" Ashley said again. She ran to Pikachu and picked him up. "You tried your best," she said to him. Then she looked up at me. "How did you DO that?"
I looked at the floor, and noticed Dawn once again slither near me and Danny. The crystal ball in her mouth was glowing so bright, I felt like I needed sunglasses.
"Er," I began. "Well, I'm afraid I can't tell you that." I looked up at them. "I'm sorry, but you must leave right now. There's a lot of danger if you stay here any longer. I can't have anyone knowing about this place."
Chris held up his hand. "Oh, we won't tell. We all respect that."
"Yeah," Suzie agreed. I could tell they were being sincere, and smiled. I looked at Ceilo, and he nodded.
"Celio-the Dragonite over there-will show you out," I said, pointing to Ceilo. "Remember, don't ever tell anyone you were here. Forget that battle even happened, Ashley."
She grinned. "I don't know if I can, but I'll try."
I grinned back, and they all walked towards Cielo. The Dragonite opened the door and somehow, the whole group made it out. The door closed with a big band and suddenly, I was alone again.
Well, of course not alone. I had two Dragonites, many Dragonairs, Mystic, and plenty of Dratinis. And of course, Danny.
I sighed and looked around. "Well," I said. "I never did take that nap."
Danny laughed and put his arm around me. "I can only imagine how tired you must be. Here, I'll help you to your room."
I smiled as I watched Mystic jump into the pool with Moerumushi, the handsome Dragonair I kept seeing her with, and Dawn slither away to the bottom of the pool, the crystal ball still in her mouth.