A/N: Sure, I've taken ages in writing this, but it's pretty long. And vaguely eventful. And I'll let you be the judge of whether or not it's any good in a review:

Dedication: To everyone who gave me such nice birthday presents; Twisted Alyx for your adorable picture, Dragonfree/Butterfree for your hilarious and brilliant fic, MissingNo for your picture and fanfic (which I just love), and Sarah for your wonderful aeroplane sick bag! I love you all!

Disclaimer: Satoshi Tajiri Millionaire Japanese genius games-designer guy: Creator of Pokémon.

Dannichu Random and insane writer of fanfiction with outlandish pie obsession: Not creator of Pokémon.

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Sianne's Story

By Dannichu

Chaa…" Came a voice from the other side to the lake. I looked up so fast I forgot to tread water and sunk slightly below the surface. I kicked myself up again, blinked the filthy water out of my eyes and stared. The Pikachu was in about the middle of the lake, on its back and kicking itself along lazily, as if it didn't have a care in the world.
"Wha?" I said aloud. The Pikachu noticed me, gave me an evil kind of smile that read plainly 'can't catch me!,' and dived underwater. I was amazed. Sparky and I had gone to the local swimming pool about once every fortnight and Sparky had never gone underwater. Sure, Sparky was less adventurous than most Pikachu, but to see this trainerless Pikachu dive underwater like a Dratini amazed me.

I doggy-paddled to the bank, shook most of the water out of my hair, which was normally messy and flyway, but was now sopping wet and covered in mud, grabbed my shoes in one hand, shoved my bag on one shoulder and grabbed a Safari ball from its side-pocket. I then ran over to the other side of the lake, hoping to catch the amazing Pikachu by surprise when it resurfaced. After nearly a minute I was puzzled. I couldn't hold my breath that long, sure when I was lying on my bed calmly, but not while swimming. And my lungs were triple the size of a Pikachu's. I was beginning to get worried when suddenly the Pikachu appeared above the water, panting slightly. I immediately, as if out of reflex threw the ball, which hit the Pikachu just as it tried to dive back underwater before bouncing off the mouse, landing on the bank on the other side while absorbing the Pikachu in mystical green light. I took out another ball, hoping to be able to throw it if it were to break out before it managed to dive back into the water. I watched the ball with as much anticipation as I did with the first Pikachu. I gazed intently at the ball shaking on the embankment. It wobbled once, twice, then a third time rather violently. Again, out of reflex I threw the ball I was holding, but it fell straight into the water and sunk. I returned my gaze to the ball in which the water-loving Pikachu was, struggling to escape the balls boundaries. Then the ball rested, not even twitching. Overjoyed at not only capturing a new Pokémon, at not only another Pikachu, but one that could swim without even being taught by a trainer. Pokémon never ceased to amaze me; probably one of the reasons why I loved them so very much. I dashed over at a speed to rival Terra's, grabbed the ball and kissed it.

After I had put my other new Pikachu's ball in my bag, I realized what a state I must have looked, soaked from head to toe, covered in mud and I even had strands of pondweed in my hair. I picked out the weed and squeezed my shirt and trousers as much as I could without removing them. Then, still smiling insanely, I wandered around looking for other Pokémon I could capture and add to my team of not only just Pokémon, but also my friends.

I mentally counted how many balls I would have left. If I began with thirty; caught my first Pikachu with one, wasted one on a Natu, caught my second Pikachu with one and then thrown one into the water, I was left with 26. Plenty. But then I thought; if I did catch more than six, I would have to stick them in a computer, which was even worse than keeping them in a ball unless I needed to battle with them, since at least they got to stretch their legs occasionally. But being stuck in a computer would be my worst nightmare, worse even than being cramped up in a tiny ball; being nothing more than a string of data until I was taken out and used as a machine. Some trainers had no compassion for their Pokémon at all; it was despicable. So I had caught the Pokémon I wanted, two in fact, and I was over the moon about it. Why not exit now and leave the Pokémon in the Safari Zone running free until they were captured by someone who would use them as teammates and friends? I grinned. For one of the few times since I arrived in Hoenn, I knew I was doing the right thing.

I decided to check how many steps I had taken so I pulled my t-shirt up slightly and looked at the small machine attached to where my belt would have been, were it not in the Safari Entrance. There was nothing displayed on the screen. I looked harder at it, seeing if there was some button to turn it on, but I saw none. I guess they had given me a faulty one at the Entrance. While I knew most trainers would take extreme advantage of this, I figured that lying and cheating was pointless and besides, I had already decided not to catch any more Pokémon. With that, I began making my way back to the Safari Entrance, still grinning happily.

Today just couldn't get better.

I managed to get back to the Safari Entrance, seeing a whole host of Pokémon, but I didn't catch any. Okay, I attempted to catch a Phanpy, temporarily forgetting what I had decided, but it escaped and ran off. I bumped into one trainer and we talked for a bit, telling each other what Pokémon we had captured or hope to catch. I saw him get a look of anticipation when I told him I had caught two Pikachu, but then added firmly, "I just love Pikachu, I wouldn't trade them for anything." Once in the Entrance, I was asked if I wanted to stop then. I handed back twenty-five Pokéballs and the pedometer, it slipped my mind to mention that it was faulty. I got my Pokébelt back, had the anti-attack chips removed from both my Pikachu and was about to exit when a voice stopped me.

"'Scuse me, miss."

I turned around. "Yes?"

"What've you done to this here pedometer?

"Nothing." I said, "Oh, I remember... It was faulty. I tried to check how many steps I had left and the screen was blank. But I'm sure I kept within the five hundred."

"No, miss. It was working when we gave it to you."

"It wasn't!" I protested. "I didn't do anything to it!"

"Hmmm…" the man said, examining it closely. "Nothing, eh? It looks to me like its got dropped in the water. So how'd you manage to take it off?"

"I didn't!" I said far more loudly than I intended, causing a few people to stare. But then I remembered… "It did get wet."

"So you took it off? That's one lifelong-"

"No, I didn't take it off! I went into the water!"

The man looked me up and down, even though I was now dry, thanks to the cool breezes and warm sun, it was pretty obvious I had gone into some kind of water. Not very clean water at that.

"How'd you get into the water?" he demanded, looking angry.

"I… I jumped in to-"

"You jumped into the water? You mean you just leaped into the lake?" he said, not bothering to stifle a patronizing laugh.

"Yes, I did. And it was to save a drowning Pokémon."

Okay, I decided to stretch the truth a little. I had every intention of saving a drowning Pikachu.

"What Pokémon?" he asked suspiciously, his face centimeters from mine. And heck, did his breath stink.

"A Pikachu." I answered truthfully.

"A Pikachu?" he repeated, before turning to the other Safari Warden who looked a little angry about having to deal with an entire queue of people while the other on-duty Warden was questioning me. "Hey Percy." He said.

"What is it, Luke?" replied the other Warden grouchily.

I felt slightly insulted on my Luke's behalf about having to share his name with such an idiot.

"Can Pikachu swim?"

Percy, or whoever he was, looked angry at being interrupted with such a pointless and random question. "no. They're electric mice. How'd you expect them to?" before turning back to the irritated queue of people.

"It's true!" I said.

"Did anyone see you? Any witnesses?" he asked, clearly enjoying acting detective.

"Um… no. Nobody."

"And the Pikachu?" he asked.

"I did rescue it. And capture it. It was one of the ones I caught."

"Can I see it?" he asked.

I took out both Pokéballs containing Pikachu. After releasing them both I admitted. "I'm not sure which one it is."

But, looking at them, it was easy to see which one had been in the water. Its fur was wet, since Pokémon didn't dry while in their balls, and muddy. "That one." I said, pointing at it. "Definitely."

"Did this trainer save you?" he asked. It didn't answer, instead, running off and leaping on top of the public computer. "Chu chu!" it sang.

The Warden was getting very annoyed now. "Recall it!" he commanded. I did so and then turned to face him. "I'm wet, the Pikachu was soaked, what more evidence do you need?"

"Gimmie a minute." He said, holding up a fat forefinger at me. He picked up a phone, pressed the number three and spoke into it.

"Yeah, management… There's a trainer here who broke her pedometer... No, she didn't take it off. Apparently she jumped into the lake to save a Pikachu… Yeah, I'm pretty sure. … They both looked like they'd been in the lake… No, we don't have CCTV there; it's a lake for the love of Pete! …Okay… Okay… Cheers."

"Okay kid." He said, putting the phone down. "You're off the hook. Now go." He pointed at the exit, which I was only too happy to leave through.

After running for about fifteen minutes I arrived, very out of breath, at the Lilycove Pokémon Center. I had managed to avoid getting attacked by any wild Pokémon, which was very good since all my Pokémon but Luke and the Pikachu were out cold, Luke hated fighting and wasn't feeling too great, and I had no experience with the Pikachu and the last thing I wanted to do was to lose the first battle because I wasn't thinking straight. I had to have them checked over before battling with them anyway. One of them might have a broken leg or be deaf or anything. Therefore I would never battle with a Pokémon without getting it checked over first. I handed all six of my balls over to the Joy behind the desk I was standing by; it felt great to be able to hand over six Pokémon, while most trainers had caught at least six before leaving their hometown, I didn't want to capture a Pokémon that I wouldn't like or who wouldn't like me as its trainer (I sure made a mistake with Daigree, my Sneasel, there).

I rented one of the Free Public Rooms at the Pokémon Center and had a nice long shower, not before dumping my clothes in the washing machine which was conveniently in the small kitchen of the room. I left them in there to clean while I had my shower and I got out, with a towel around me and put all my clothes in a tumble drier while I used a hairdryer in the shower room to dry my hair. This took just over half an hour and by then my Pokémon were ready. Nurse Joy came up to me when I entered the foyer and handed me all six of my Pokémon, with which I dashed outside and onto the beach before releasing, feeling as happy as I possibly could without exploding.

I sent out all of the Pokémon, beginning with Luke, finishing with the two Pikachu. The original four Pokémon turned to look at the two new Pikachu, one who had a slightly crazed expression on its face and the other who sported a sort of embarrassed look.

"Hi." I said as way of an introduction, "It's been a while since I've heard Pikachu, but I should be able to talk to you."
"If only we were so lucky." muttered Sarah to Terra. I had found understanding Mudkip particularly hard to understand, and when she evolved it was even worse. The only way I could understand her at all to begin with was through playing charades and the kind of connection between us. I recognized it as the bond between a Pokémon and its trainer.

"Hi." said the calmer Pikachu, waving its paw at us. I noticed that it was a lot skinnier than the other one, but didn't say anything.

The second Pikachu was staring at the ocean with an expression of happiness on its face. "The sea…" it said in awe.

"Have you never seen the sea before?" Russell asked curiously.
"No, but I've heard about it... it's so beautiful…" it said.

"So, um, so you have a name or anything?" I asked. The only I had ever met who had a name pronounceable in the human tongue (not, for example, one said only in the Pikachu language) given to them before I gave them one was Daigree, so it was very rare but I knew that some did, and I wanted to respect that. Also, if they didn't want a nickname, that was fine too.

"Me?" asked the Pikachu who was still staring at the sea. "Nope. Not a one."

"What about you?" I asked, bending down and looking my other Pikachu in the eye.

"Um, well, actually I do." It said, still rather shy. I reminded strongly of Sparky, were Sparky not smaller.

"What is it?"
"Well, my family", I thought I imagined the flicker in its eye when it said that, but passed it off as my imagination, "has a tradition of name-giving and we are each given a name by fate." It explained, a misty look in its eyes. I saw Luke looking at it with an intense gaze, obviously very interested. The others were intrigued, too. So was I. I had never heard of this.

"This began about five thousand years ago and since then the ancient fate spirits Mew, Celebi and Jirachi not only give our parents our eggs but also give us instructions about our names. When our eggs are about to hatch we are given a name, each relevant to our future and purpose."

"Wow…" I said, hardly able to take it in. Sparky had never mentioned anything like this before. Luke looked amazed. "So what's your name?" I asked.

"Sianne." The Pikachu replied, grinning.

"That's a really nice name." Terra said, fascinated by the new additions to our team.

"And are you two related?" Russell asked, looking between the calm and deep Pikachu to the one restraining itself from diving into the sea.

"I've never met this guy before." Sianne said. "He seems to love the water though."

"He? It's a male?" I asked. I had totally forgotten to ask them their genders. But they were both so interesting.

"Sure," said Terra, "you can tell by looking at his face. The expression on his face is so obviously masculine. Look." We all looked, and the Pikachu suddenly noticed us all staring and gave us a huge cheesy grin.

"Yeah, you're right." I said. "And you… you're…" I took a good look at Sianne's face, studying every feature; what struck me first was that its face looked forcibly aged, as if it had grown up ahead of its years. But then I looked deeply and saw its greenish eyes, its small nose, tiny eyelashes, and, I noticed, now so close to its face, it had a scar running across its right cheek; just like me. I studied its face for about half a minute before deciding. "Female." I said, looking up. "I'm sure of it."

"Yeah, I'm female." She assured us, smiling. "I'm flattered you could tell; my brothers", there was definitely a hint of bitterness there, "normally went on about how I looked like a guy and things. And you're… well, you're a human."

"You don't." I reassured her. "Not at all."
"She didn't know I was female!" said Sarah indignantly.

"Oh, give it a rest Sarah." Terra said, rolling her eyes at the incessant Marshtomp.

"So, um… non-Sianne Pikachu. Would you want a name? I mean, lots of trainers don't give them names, but I think it makes Pokémon more individual and things."

"Sure!" he said, grinning again.

"Hmm…" I closed my eyes and tried to think. What was the word? I had left school earlier than most, desperate to begin training. I had always made the important decisions in my life, like when I would leave school. While many people in my class were going to study hard and wanted to get a good job, I really wanted to go and train Pokémon. And, I decided, money didn't matter. And nothing showed that more than my position now; with hardly a Credit to my name and yet with some of the best friends anyone could ever want. Of course, there were some things that staying on for school would have been useful for. And one of those things was languages. "S...Su... Souriee!" I shouted, remembering the French word for 'mouse'.

"Don't you mean 'souriss'?." Terra asked, being very intelligent, but never showing off about it.

"Um… yeah. Souriss." I said, slightly embarrassed.

"Nah; I like Souriee!" Said the Pikachu, delighted at getting a name. "Suh-ree" he said, sounding it out. "I really like it!"

"Really?" I said, and upon seeing him nod, "That's it then; Sianne and Souriee!"

"Yaaay!" Souriee said, dancing around. "Imagine if my friends could see me now! With a trainer! And I have a name! A nickname! And," he added, grinning widely, "I've seen the ocean! I've wanted to see that since a Pichu. If a 1000-ton anvil came and crushed me now, I'd die a happy Pokémon."

I laughed, and then looked at the sea. Hmm… I didn't have a swimming costume in my rucksack, and my clothes were newly cleaned since the Safari Zone Lake... I took a look at Souriee's expectant face and thought about it and grinned. Ah, whatever; you only live once.