A/N: New chapter! Whee! Sorry about the nicknames, there are only (as I've planned out so far) six Pokémon with nicknames that feature the entire fic so it shouldn't be too bad. Hopefully. Oh yeah – Danni's parents were killed by a Rhydon when she was about five. I didn't put it in since it's not really relevant. I doubt it'll make another appearance. Sound odd? It was originally going to be a rabid Wigglytuff O.O

Dedication: To Lunar Sphinx for making me feel so loved :)

Disclaimer: My ownership of Pokémon is about as real as the weapons of mass destruction. ::glares at Bush::

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Sianne's Story

By Dannichu

Chapter 2 – In which we have a random battle for no reason, a little more character development and them actually getting to Lilycove. And lots more self-pity on Danni's part.

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I was woken by Russell the following morning, I felt him stretching and sitting on my feet. I rubbed my eyes and poked my head to look outside the tent in order to see what kind of day it was so I could dress accordingly. It was sunny, so t-shirt and jeans it was. I sent Russell outside while I changed, then washed at a nearby river. Then I packed away the tent before releasing my Pokémon once again so they could walk alongside me. While almost all trainers keep their Pokémon inside their Pokéballs all the time, I don't believe in it. Being a claustrophobic person myself, I could think of no worse punishment than to be confined in a space the size of a tennis ball all day so I was not willing to inflict it upon my Pokémon. I only recalled them when it was time for bed (and even then it was only because we wouldn't all fit in my one-man tent) or when they were tired out. Another great reason for keeping them out all the time was that it made them more physically fit. It always gave us an edge in battle since if you walk about ten miles on a daily basis it will obviously show when you battle against opponents that are cooped up all day and don't walk anywhere. And, of course, it was great to have them to chat to whilst walking along the long roads to the next gym or place we wanted to visit.

I was in a great mood, it was a lovely day and I was walking along a beautiful trainer-free road with my friends and I was going to the Safari Zone, where I was sure to make a new friend.

"Quick! Hide!" shouted Terra from the air, "There's a trainer coming!"

"Ack!" I half-yelled, half-whispered, "get behind a tree or something!"

So Luke, Sarah and I ran and hid behind a bush. A very prickly bush at that. Terra flew up into a tree and Russell was already off somewhere, probably digging for more items.
Peeking through the branches of the bush, I could make out a man walking past; he was probably in his late fifties, was holding a walking stick and looked very respectable. He wasn't the kind of person you would expect to be a trainer, and I would not have thought he was myself, were he not walking with a Manectric beside him.

"Ow..." I heard Sarah moan in my ear.

"What? I whispered, not taking my eyes off the trainer.

"I think I'm sitting on something pointy..." Sarah whispered back.

"Wurm?" came a voice from underneath Sarah.

"AAARRRGGHHH!" Sarah screamed, leaping up suddenly, scaring me, Luke and the Wurmple she had been sitting on out of our minds.

"Are you okay Sarah?" Luke asked, forgetting that we were supposed to be hiding and going over to Sarah.

"Yeah... It just made me jump... that's all..." she said between breaths.

I stood up and went over to Sarah. "You sure?" I asked, "You didn't sit on its poisonous spikes or anything did you?"

"No... just its back...but it made me jump so much..."

"You there!" said the man, pointing his stick directly at me. "Would those Pokémon happen to belong to you?"

"Um... yes." I said, bowing my head slightly. Great, just what I needed. Yet another battle.

"Would you care to battle me?" he asked, eyeing Sarah, who was still panting heavily after being made jump so suddenly. 'No wonder he's challenging you' I thought to myself, 'He just saw one of your Pokémon get scared by a Wurmple.'

"Um, okay," I said resentfully, cursing the stupid 'trainer's etiquette' that made it rude to refuse a battle. I could still reduce the number of my Pokémon that got hurt, though. "Is one-on-one okay?"

"Ladies first," he said, indicating that I should send out one of my Pokémon first. My first thought was that I should send out Sarah or Terra if he had a Manectric, but then the logical side of my brain told me that he would obviously have more than one Pokémon. And since my Pokémon were already pretty weak, I couldn't afford to have their weaknesses picked on.
"Russell, go!" I shouted.

The man stared at me. I hadn't thrown a Pokéball and the two Pokémon beside me were also just staring. Terra was sitting in a tree making head-slicing motions at me.

I was such an idiot.

Russell was still off hunting for stuff. I blushed deeply with embarrassment and then decided.
"Luke, go!"

Luke sprang into action, leaping forward out of the holly bush and onto the wide path that was to serve as our battlefield.

"A Zangoose? Interesting. Odd you should want to capture on with just on eye." The man said. I felt furious, and I saw Luke twinge with embarrassment.

Go, Golduck!" he threw an Ultra Ball and a Golduck burst forth from it in a green flash.

'A Golduck? This man must have been to the Safari Zone' I thought.

"Luke, Swords Dance!" I shouted, Luke began dancing; chafing his claws together in order to sharpen them up, meaning that the next hits would be extra-powerful.

"Golduck, Confusion!" the man said calmly. His Golduck's eyes began glowing an odd purplish color and suddenly a bean of intense psychic power burst from the Pokémon' core in the center of its forehead.

"Dodge it!" I yelled to Luke, but it was too late. The beam hit him in the chest area and he fell to the ground. "Luke!" I screamed.

Luke managed to get back to his feet, weakened greatly from the attack, but not ready to give up.

"You okay?" I asked. He nodded. "Good, now try Slash!"

Luke leaped over to the Golduck with all the agility and grace of a cat before slashing at the duck Pokémon with his newly-sharpened claws.

"Duck!" shrieked the Golduck, letting Luke and I know that he had scored a critical hit. "Now, try Aerial Ace!"

"Screech." said the man, still displaying a calm face, but his voice sounded worried.

Luke leaped into the air and was about to perform the ultra-fast attack he had newly learned after using the TM given to me by Winona, but the duck Pokémon began screeching at the top of its voice, making Luke lose his concentration and wince with the pain the high-pitched noise was causing.

'Drat' I thought. 'there goes Luke's already low defense. I've got to end this before it can hit me again.'

"Aerial Ace one more time!" I shouted. Luke leaped into the air, and then began spinning before he finally made contact. Luke's claws slammed into Golduck from above, sending it sprawling to the dusty ground.

"Yes!" I shouted happily. This would be our first win in weeks!

"Duck." The Water-type declared, getting back on its feet. I felt embarrassed again at my premature victory dance. But even if the Golduck had gotten up, it was only a matter of time before it was knocked down for good.

"Luke, just one more hit with Slash!"

"Jump and then Water Gun, Golduck."

Luke began running over to the blue duck Pokémon with his claws fully extended, the sunlight glinting off them, when the Golduck suddenly leaped into the air. Luke halted suddenly and looked up. He saw the Golduck come falling back down to the ground, and he prepared the Slash it when it did. But he never got the chance.

"Duuuuck!" The Golduck sent a jet of foamy water at Luke, hitting him directly in the stomach, winding him and sending him flying backwards and into a tree. The Golduck landed gracefully on the ground.

"Luke!" I screamed. I ran over to him and checked to see if he was all right. He was hurt and unconscious, but there were no lasting injuries. I sighed, half with relief, half with regret.

"Looks like I won." said the man, recalling his Golduck. At this point it was customary for the loser to give the victor their winnings. I took my bag off my shoulders and reached inside it for my purse. I opened it and took out all the money inside. I had about 200 credits. Not enough for one measly Pokéball. I handed the man 100 credits. He looked at it questioningly and then continued walking, muttering something about trainers "not being like they used to be".

"Well he was an idiot." came Sarah's voice behind me, voicing my thoughts. "He should have chosen first as well. Remember? Whoever makes the challenge should send out their Pokémon first. "

"I am so stupid." I muttered, staring at Luke's lifeless form, before recalling him into a Pokéball. "I shouldn't have lost that. If I have been playing proper attention, I could have made Luke dodge that Confusion attack in time."

"I doubt that." Terra said in her fast voice, "the same thing that was slowing you down would have been slowing Luke down."

"What might that be?" I asked.

"Hunger. We're all starving, and we have been for ages. A tin of carrots between five of us is not enough to keep any of us in a fit shape for battle."

I knew she was right. I sadly extended my arm, motioning for her to come and rest on my shoulder, which she did. "I'm really sorry. I'm a bad trainer." I said, trying to hold back tears, "I shouldn't have accepted that battle, etiquette or not. And I definitely shouldn't have sent out Luke. He hates battling. I was too busy concentrating on the stupid battle to think about his feelings."

"That's not true." Terra told me sharply, "When you accepted that battle, you were thinking about how, if we could win, we might be able to get some money for food, not about personal glory. We all know that."

"Yeah." Sarah agreed, "and even if it was for personal glory, you sure ruined that by attempting to send out a Pokémon that wasn't there." We all laughed. It had been a long time since we had all laughed, what with the stress of lack of food and avoiding trainers. We then continued walking along the beautiful yet uncharted route toward Lilycove and the Safari Zone.

It had fields of tall grass and flowers to one side of the overgrown path and on the other side was a tall, green wood, which had that 'pine fresh' smell to it. And since it was such a beautiful late summer morning, walking along a road in the sunshine while talking to your friends was pure happiness, starving or not.

"It sure is nice along here." Sarah commented, looking over at a field full of beautiful flowers, with some Beautifly drinking nectar from them happily. On a large rock in the field, two Poochyena were lying peacefully, lazily gazing at us walking past.

"It is." I said, mesmerized by how peaceful it was, "I'd love to live around here."

"I don't see any houses though." Terra said from up in the air.

"Yeah, they'd probably spoil the view." I said, nodding.

"I don't think so. One right over there would look wonderful! A nice big one."
"Think so?" I asked, looking over at the field to which Terra was indicating.

"Look! Up ahead!" the Vibrava shouted suddenly, flying above our heads with the speed of a Ninjask.

"What?" Sarah shouted, running as fast as she could... which wasn't very fast.

"Oh, wow!" I shouted. We were on top of a large hill, and looking down we could see the bustling metropolis that was Lilycove City.

"Cool..." Sarah said, looking down at all the buildings. "This is bigger than Slateport and Rustboro combined!"

"Hey, look!" Terra said, pointing with her little arms at a patch of green in the distance, "There's the Safari Zone!"

"Let's get going then!" Sarah said happily, and began making her way down the steep hill.

"Wait!" I shouted to her, "we'd better wait for Russell first!"

"Oh, okay." Sarah and I began calling for him, and Terra took to flying above the trees looking for him.

"Russell! Russell!" Sarah shouted into the wood. "Where IS he?" she complained. "Why can't he keep to the road like the rest of us? What if he got into a battle with a big Pokémon like Lairon and got knocked out or something? What if-"
"Sarah, calm down!" I said, because what the easily-worried Marshtomp was saying was really making me panic. "Russell will be fine."
"Guys!" we turned and saw Terra flying over to use with Russell running along the ground.

"Sorry," Russell said apologetically, "Terra told me about the battle and stuff; it must have been really embarrassing."

"That's okay," I said, scratching him behind his ears, causing him to close his eyes in ecstasy, "did you find anything?"

"Um, I found two Super Potions, but one of them was really, really old, nearly decaying, so I left it." Russell said, dropping an orange-colored spray bottle at my knees.

"Hey, Russell, look over there!" Sarah said, standing at the top of the hill. Russell darted over to where the Marshtomp was standing.

"Wow..." Russell breathed, "That's amazing! Is that where we're going?"
"Yup, that's Lilycove." I said, "and the Safari Zone is just over there!"

"Let's go!" said Sarah, looking very hyper. So Terra, Russell and I followed her down the hill and into bustling Lilycove.

"Wait, Sarah!" I shouted over the crowd of people. One person in the crowd, who I assumed was also called Sarah, turned their head and looked at me. I just ran over to where Sarah was looking in a shop window, grabbed her by the wrist and dashed with her into the Pokémon Center.

"Why're we here?" she asked, looking around.

"Because Luke needs some rest," I said, "and because you might be able to get a meal here."

"Oh, okay." Sarah said, before turning to Terra and Russell. "Hear that? We might be getting something to eat!"

"That's a relief." Russell said, "I'm starving."

"Me too." Sarah agreed.

"Okay guys," I said, walking over to them, "I need you to go in your Pokéballs. I'll then get Nurse Joy to give you a checkup and she might, note the 'might', give you some food. Okay?"
"Great!" said Terra happily. I recalled her into her Premier Ball and the others into their Pokéballs and handed them over to the nurse's Chansey. While I was waiting for them to be healed, I just sat in the waiting room reading a well out-of-date trainer's manual for tips. It had nothing in that I didn't know already. I knew about type match-ups, items, eggs, evolution... I knew what being a good trainer took, but the book didn't have anything about training Pokémon that were so hungry you could swear your Marshtomp was looking at you as if you were a pizza.
Even though it was only about four in the afternoon, I felt a wave of drowsiness creep over me. It was probably a mixture of hunger and exhaustion and I just fell asleep in the chair in the Pokémon Center waiting room.

I woke up to find Sarah and Luke sleeping in the chairs either side of me, Russell curled up sleeping on my lap and Terra snoozing on my head. I opened my eyes and looked around for a clock to see how long I had been asleep for. I looked around so sharply I woke up Terra very suddenly, making her jump.

"Danni! Don't do that!" she whispered, so as not to wake up the others.

"Sorry," I whispered back apologetically, "how long have you been here? Did you get something to eat?"

"Yeah, we got something to eat - it was this delicious Pokémon food and it was the nicest thing I've ever tasted and after we'd eaten and stuff and Luke had gotten healed Nurse Joy was going to recall us but Sarah said that you would prefer it if we were left out for the night so we came out and found you sleeping." she said quickly. "You must have been really tired."

"I was." I said, stroking the back of her head, "I nearly-"

Before I could finish, I was startled by Sarah turning in her sleep and falling off the chair.

"Ow!" she moaned.

"Shh!" Terra and I said simultaneously.

"Oh, sorry." Sarah whispered. "What time is it?"

"I don't know," I said, "there isn't a clock here. But seeing the sun coming through the windows over there, I would say it was time to get up, okay?"

"Sure." Sarah agreed, "Should I wake up Luke and Russell?"

"Russell will have to wake up when I get up anyway," I said, indicating to him curled up on my lap, "but Luke can carry on sleeping for a bit. He's still probably tired and achy from yesterday."

"That's a good idea," Terra agreed, nodding while sitting on my head, "are there some public sinks or washbasins here do you think?"
"Let's find out." I said, waking up Russell.

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A/N: Chapter 2 done! Hmm... In chapter 3 we just might have Sianne actually feature! ...Or maybe not. I've not gotten that far yet. But don't you just LOVE the disclaimer? Sorry if I offended anyone with it, but it's my favorite one I've ever done.