Three pairs of eyes turned to look at each other in surprise.
Finally, just as the sun finished setting, the girl sighed and stood, brushing grass off her jeans. She swiftly, gingerly, placed her guitar in a case and placed the strap around her front so the guitar case was on her back. Finally, she turned, looking at the place they were. She smiled, and crossed her arms over her chest, standing at ease.
Knowing they had no choice (well, other than to run away, and that would have been rude), they guiltily stepped out. Misty was keeping an eye on the Gyrados, Ash was regarding both the Pokemon as well as the trainer, and Brock… was gazing at the girl.
What'd you expect? He's Brock. Enough said!
"We're sorry, but we heard your singing—and my heart felt the call of your beauty!" As usual, Brock was being dramatic. He started for the girl, who was staring at him—but he was stopped when the Vulpix jumped in front of her trainer, and quite suddenly… each Pokemon looked very awake, and non-too-friendly.
Immediately the girl knelt and picked up her Vulpix carefully, stroking her head soothingly. "It's all right, guys." She spoke quietly, knowing she needn't raise her voice. The Pokemon visibly relaxed, but continued to watch the three new trainers curiously.
The girl looked sheepishly up at them. "Sorry 'bout that… my Pokemon are protective of me, for some reason." She laughed before looking at Brock, one eyebrow arched. "If you're calling me a beauty, you're either blind, desperate, or can't have met any girls with actual good looks—'sides Misty here, of course." She jerked her head towards said gym leader, who was now regarding her suspiciously.
"No way… Naomi?" Hearing her name the trainer looked at Misty and grinned, nodding. "Believe it or not, yeah."
Instead of receiving a warmer welcome, Mist y glared at her, propping her hands on her hips. "And since when do you like Gyarados?" She demanded.
Naomi smiled sheepishly and released Vulpix, who simply sat on the ground. She walked towards the large water/dragon Pokemon and gently placed a hand on a scale, stroking it lovingly. "Since this big boy saved me… I had a run-in with Team Rocket." She explained matter-of-factly. "I fell into a river and the current was too strong, even for my abilities—likely for even yours, Misty. Then out of nowhere this Gyarados appears and somehow gets me out of it. I found out the river turned into a waterfall, which turned into a lake—he probably lived there." She shrugged, smiling up at the Pokemon, who seemed relaxed once again.
"Before that, I disliked Gyarados's as much as Misty!" She said with a laugh. Misty rolled her eyes, but let it slide, much to the amazement of the two male trainers.
Ash regarded Naomi curiously. "So why were you singing, anyways? And why such a sad song? Not that you don't have a great voice, but I don't see why you had to be so sad." He quickly added.
Naomi hesitated, then looked at her Pokemon. "One thing that I always found that made me feel better was music—if I don't have something around to write with or draw with. I learned how to play about a year ago, during my travels as a trainer. I also realized that whenever I practiced, my Pokemon would draw close to me, and relax. They also seemed to get stronger faster—I think it's because everyone loves music; it's in our very souls. So I get my practice, and my Pokemon get relaxed and stronger. Pretty good deal, I think." She watched as Ash's face took on an expression she knew well.
"Seriously? That's awesome! I never would have thought something as simple as music would relax them, or, or make them stronger!" He said eagerly. The trainers approached the girl. Knowing how Misty was, Naomi sighed, and somewhat reluctantly took out a pokeball. "Sorry, Gyarados, but Misty isn't too fond of your species. Nothing personal." She assured the Gyarados hastily, before clicking the pokeball. Gyarados heaved a sigh before disappearing into the pokeball, and she tucked the ball into her belt.
Misty visibly relaxed, and smiled, hurrying up to hug the younger girl. Younger Naomi may be, but she was taller than Misty—only by a few inches, but still.
"What kind of music do you usually use?" Now both Brock and Ash seemed interested; neither surprised Misty. The minute Brock heard something new about the way people raised their Pokemon he had to find out all he could about it and try it himself. Well, he was a breeder—what would one expect? And Ash… well, Ash was Ash. Anything about Pokemon interested him.
"It's different every night, usually—I try to do about three songs before I go to bed, but it all depends on the day and how it went. If you like I can show you the songs I usually practice—not actually do them, but I can give you a list." She offered, noting the way both their eyes lit up. She smiled, and looked at her Pokemon, which had followed her. "Kadabra, may I have my backpack, please?" She asked the physic Pokemon. In a moment a backpack sort of materialized in her hands, and she smiled, grasping it easily. At Ash's curious gaze, she explained, "Usually I have both my 'case and backpack on, but I took my 'pack off for tonight." After searching through it she withdrew her hand, holding up a large binder. It was thick with songs. She threw it easily to Brock, who caught, but off-guard; he hadn't been expecting such a thick book.
He opened it to the front page and rapidly read down the list, eyes widening. "Wow… I had expected lots of band songs, or one type of songs… But this is random songs from different decades, random bands or singers!" Ash quickly tugged the book away, but settled for holding one side of the binder as Brock held the other. Naomi nodded. "I don't like one type—each one has a different appeal to me, and I therefore search the chords and lyrics… And if I can't, I match them until I get it to sound right." She smiled at the look of surprise all three trainers gave her.
"Oh—hey! I love this song!" Spoke up misty, who had peered between the two male trainers shoulders to look at the list. "You're My Angel!" Naomi grinned. "I've been practicing it, and I think I've got it down—since it was originally a duet when sung it doesn't sound quite right when I sing it. But I like it… Want me to give it a try? Vulpix loves that song." She laughed as Vulpix nodded her agreement, along with Misty, Brock, and Ash. "All right then… let me see it." She reached out and Ash opened the binder, giving her the page for that song—it was in the front, so easy access.
She set the page in sat of her and sat down, taking out her guitar. She strummed it, making sure it was properly tuned (it was, but it was habit). She cleared her throat, and softly began.
"No
Mountains too high, for you to climb
All
you have to do is have some climbing faith, oh yeah
No
rivers too wide, for you to make it across
All
you have to do is believe it when you pray
And
then you will see, the morning will come
And
everyday will be bright as the sun
All
of your fears cast them on me
I
just want you to see...
I'll
be your cloud up in the sky
I'll
be your shoulder when you cry
I'll
hear your voices when you call me
I
am your angel
And
when all hope is gone, I'm here
No
matter how far you are, I'm near
It
makes no difference who you are
I
am your angel
I'm
your angel
I
saw the teardrops, and I heard you cry
All
you need is time, seek me and you shall find
You
have everything and you're still lonely
It
doesn't have to be this way, let me show you a better day
And
then you will see, the morning will come
And
all of your days will be bright as the sun
So
all of your fears, just cast them on me
How
can I make you see...
I'll
be your cloud up in the sky
I'll
be your shoulder when you cry
I'll
hear your voices when you call me
I
am your angel
And
when all hope is gone, I'm here
No
matter how far you are, I'm near
It
makes no difference who you are
I
am your angel
I'm
your angel
And
when it's time to face the storm
I'll
be right by your side
Grace
will keep up safe and warm
And
I know we will survive
And
when it seems as if your end is drawing near
Don't
you dare give up the fight
Just
put your trust beyond the sky...
I'll
be your cloud up in the sky
I'll
be your shoulder when you cry
I'll
hear your voices when you call me
I
am your angel
And
when all hope is gone, I'm here
No
matter how far you are, I'm near
It
makes no difference who you are
I
am your angel
I'm
your angel
I'll
be your cloud up in the sky
I'll
be your shoulder when you cry
I'll
hear your voices when you call me
I
am your angel
And
when all hope is gone, I'm here
No
matter how far you are, I'm near
It
makes no difference who you are
I
am your angel
I'm
your angel…"
She glanced at her pokemon and smiled, seeing the majority had fallen asleep. She quietly called each back to it's pokeball—except Vulpix. "Vulpix likes to be able to see me." She explained quietly. She slowly stood, and looked at the trainers, who were staring at her.
"What? Did you not like it?" She asked anxiously, biting her lip. She disliked it when people didn't like her music—she aimed to please, after all. "Even though all you had was a guitar, you did the song perfectly…" Misty spoke first, followed by Brock. "So that kind of song would let your pokemon fall asleep…" Ash simply regarded the trainer thoughtfully, before grinning. "Hey! How about tomorrow you and I battle? I want to see just how strong your pokemon are!" His grin broadened when Naomi grinned as well and nodded. "You've got a deal. 'Sides, I've been wondering when I'd get another challenge!"
