Timeline: another 2 months down the line
Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me under international copyright laws and taking it is plagiarism. Thank you. *Phantomness bows*
Notes: () for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks
Chapter 8: Snowball Effect
Red and Lance sat in the shade of a palm tree together. It was a rare day off, and they were at the beach near Pallet.
He was wearing sunglasses and had dyed his hair blue temporarily to avoid crazy fans. Or challengers…
At the moment, his attention was focused on the delicious banana split in his hands, shining in all of its calorie-laden glory.
His 'guest' was partially wrapped around him the way only a spirit can be, and half-asleep.
The Champion still felt slightly guilty. It was his fault Lance was so tired, after all…
******************************Flashback*********************************
Red collapsed as he and Arcanine and Ninetails finished running all their laps.
"That's enough!" Lance said. "You'll tire yourself out!"
"But you told me to get stronger…" He panted, as he downed half a bottle of Gatorade. "I have to…"
"Yes," Lance said, putting an arm around him to help him stand. "However, I didn't mean for you to kill yourself."
"I'm not!"
She did not say another word as she closed her eyes and used the Viridian Power to heal him as well as his two pokemon, before fading back into the necklace.
The next few hours were spent with his flying pokemon, doing speed drills. By the time he returned home four days later, saying he was a wreck would be an understatement.
"Did you rest at all?" Lance demanded.
"Um… might have gotten one or two hours of sleep…"
Golden eyes glowed as she checked Red over. What she found made her want to slap the trainer silly.
"Pulled muscles, internal hemorrhaging, shin splints, malnutrition and dehydration… and that's not even all of it."
Closing her eyes again, Lance placed her hands on Red's shoulders and began the healing process. * You are such an affectionate little idiot… and I think I love you. It's a good thing you don't know. Even if you did know my gender, this would put a damper on our working relationship, and I can't have that! *
No, there was no room for anything but friendship. They had a duty to the wild Pokemon, after all.
It took more than he expected out of him. Red noticed when he felt himself perfectly fine after a nice nap, but found Lance completely knocked out on top of him. The trainer had gone incorporeal again. Weightless.
He gently eased Lance back into the necklace, and then went back to sleep. It wasn't as if they hadn't slept in the same bed before. He didn't mind.
But maybe, the other might think of him as more than a friend. He hoped so.
*********************End Flashback*************************************
Lance was slowly regaining her energy, but since she still healed his pokemon and Red himself on a nearly daily basis, there was still some being siphoned off every day. But at least the drain was much less.
Yes, being in close proximity to the Viridian Forest helped too.
Opening her eyes for a moment, she cuddled against Red's body before falling asleep again.
He continued eating his banana split in mournful silence.
Quit beating yourself over the head about it. Just don't do anything that stupid again.
(Yes sir!) Red said, after he got over the initial shock. * Now what? Lance is like a mother hen! *
Unbeknownst to him, his tenant found the statement quite amusing.
He paused. (You can read my mind?)
(Well, you can feel my emotions, can't you? It works both ways.) She parried.
(Makes sense...)
Red ordered another ice cream. Lance also fed off a little of his energy. The Dragon Master tried to keep that to a minimum, but… it wasn't his fault.
They really were co-dependent.
"We're like two pieces of a puzzle." He said, all of a sudden. "And we can't live without each other."
"Strange, isn't it?" She asked, materializing. Luckily, thier portion of the beach was quite secluded. If he said anything else, though, she might hit him.
"No, I kind of like it."
Lance paused. "Oh?"
"I love having you around. You're the darkness to my light. You know, sometimes, when I look at you, I see who I could be?"
"Really." She said, intrigued.
Lugia watched from beneath the ocean waves, waiting.
(Soon… you two will realize your potential and complete your duty. He is starting to mirror you already, Dragon Master. Now, all we have to do is wait... But we must hurry. Time is running out.)
Lugia sighed. ( Nearly a species dies every day… they hide in their secluded areas, but even those are few in this place.)
(Hurry, please, I am counting on you…)
(And if possible, I would like you two to find love as well…)
Red was just packing up to go home when he saw a team of Rockets chasing after none other than Articuno with an army of flame pokemon. They were aided by many of the Trainers on the beach.
"No!" He shouted. * Articuno! I owe you after you saved my pokemon from Team Rocket, and its time for returning the favor. *
"Gyara, Poli, Dragonite, Dragonair, Dratini! Attack those fire pokemon!"
His pokemon sprang to the attack, water attacks flying everywhere. Dragonair called up a furious rainstorm, further dampening the powers of the fire types.
"Hey!" A TR member yelled, noticing. "Stay out of our business!"
Enraged, he flew after Articuno on Aerodactyl, trying to figure out a way to calm it down and get it to a safe haven.
(Red! Watch out! Magneton trap!)
(What?) He looked down and spied the hovering hordes of magneton. * Lucky I am prepared… *
(Don't worry, Lance.)
With another flick of his wrist, he tossed out a pokemon the Rockets would certainly have wanted. Or, perhaps they would have not. He was considered a failed experiment, after all…
Eevee confidently landed opposite the snarling magnets. So, think I'll go easy on you?
Just an eevee!
Ha! Weak!
One? Easy.
Besides, girls are stupid.
Eevee's eyes glowed, as the evolution collar around his neck glowed faintly. One gem pulsed.
The next thing the Magnemite and Co. knew, they were all crashing to ground as the result of an Earthquake.
"I-impossible…" One of the Rockets said in fear. * What is that thing? *
The next thing that happened, Eevee sprouted wings, and flew over to join the water types, shifting into a Vaporeon and beating back the fire types.
In a few minutes, the tide of battle had turned, and the water pokemon all started after their trainer.
End Chapter
Completed 3/13/04
Edited to het 5/9/09
Eevee, of course, is from Team Rocket in canon, but in this fanfic, I've turned him into 'Elementeon', a fake Pokemon that can cover almost all element-types.